A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words 1860

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A cadger's map of a BEGOISG DlSTaiCT. 

EXPLANATION OF 

THE HIEROGLYPHICS. 

NO 

Y^ GOOD ; too poor, and know too much. 

f\t STOP,—if you hare what they want, they will buy. They are 

pretty "jiy" (knowing), 

GO IN THIS DIRECTION, it is better than the other road. 

Nothing that way. 

BONE (good). Safe for a "cold tatnr," if for nothing else. 

" Chttse your pattei-" (don't talk niucb) here. 

V D 

O 

6AMMT (unfevourable), likely to have you taken up. Mind the 

dog. 

COOPER'D (spoilt), by too many tramps calling there. 

FL UMMUXED (dang'erous), sure of a month in " qîod " (prisoo). 

RELIGIOUS, but tidy on the whole. 

Sse paye 37.

A DICTIONAEY 

or 

MODERN SLANG, CANT, 

AMD 

VULGAR WORDS, 

USED AT THB PRESENT DAT IN THE STREETS OF LONDON ; TUB UNIVERSITIES OF OXFORD 

AND CAMBRIDGE; TIIK IIOLISBS OF PARLIAMENT; THE DENS OF St. GILES; 

AND TUB PALACES OF ST. JAMES. 

PRECEDED BY A 

HISTORY OF CANT AND VULGAR LANGUAGE 

WITH 

GLOSSARIES OF TWO SECRET LANGUAGES, 

SPOKEN BY THE WANDERING TRIBES OF LONDON, TUB COSTiSRMOKGBRS, 

AND THB PATTERERS. 

By a LONDON ANTIQUARY. 

' 

Rabble-charming words, which carry aij much \ri1d-flre wrapt up in them."—Sourw. 

SECOND 

EDITION, 

KEVISED, WITH TWO THOUSAND ADDITIONAL WORDS. 

LONDON: 

JOHN CAMDEN HOTrEN, PICCADILLY. 

1860.

Losaos 

PRIKTKD BY TAVLOR AKO GREENIXO, GRAYSTOKK-PLACK, 

FETTER-LANB, B.C.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

The First Edition of this work had a rapid sale, and 

within a few weeks after it was published the entire 

issue passed from the publisher's shelves into the hands 

of the public. A Second Edition, although urgently 

called for, was not immediately attempted. The First 

had been found incomplete and faulty in many respects, 

and the author determined to thoroughly revise and 

recast before again going to press. 

The present edition, 

therefore, will be found much more complete than 

the First; indeed, I may say that it has been entirely 

rewritten, and that, whereas the First 

contained 

but 3,000 words, this gives nearly 5,000, with a mass 

of fresh illustrations, and extended articles on the 

more important slang terms humbug, for instance. 

Tlie notices of a Lingua Franca element in the language 

of London vagabonds is peculiar to this edition. 

My best thanks are due to several correspondents 

for valuable hints and suggestions as to the probable 

etymologies of various colloquial expressions. 

One Uterary journal of high repute recommended a

VI 

TREFACE. 

division of cant from slang ; but the annoyance of 

two indices in a small work appeared to me to more 

than counterbalance the benefit of a stricter philological 

classification, so I have for the present adhered 

to the old arrangement ; indeed, to separate cant from 

slang would be almost impossible. 

Respecting the hieroglyphics of vagabonds, I 

have been unable to obtain further information; but 

the following extract from a popular manual which I 

have just met with is worth recording, although, 

perhaps, somewhat out of place in a Preface. 

" Gipseys follow their brethren by numerous marks, such as 

strewing handfuls of grass in the day time at a four lane or 

cross roads ; the grass being strewn down the road the gang 

have taken ; also, by a cross being made on the ground with a 

stick or knife, the longest end of the cross denotes the route 

taken. In the night time a cleft stick is placed in the fence at 

the cross roads, with an ann pointing down the road their comrades 

have taken. The marks are always placed on the left-hand 

side, so that the stragglers can easily and readily find them." 

Snowden's Magistrate's Assistant, 1852, p. iii. 

Piccadilly, March 15th, 1860.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

If any gentleman of a studious turn of mind, who may 

have acquired 

the habit of carrying pencils and notebooks, 

would for one year reside in Monmouth Court, 

Seven Dials ; six months in Orchard Street, Westminster 

; 

three months in Mint Street, Borough ; and 

consent to undergo another three months on the extremely 

popular, but very much disliked treadmill 

(vulgo the " Everlasting Staircase "), finishing, I will 

propose, by a six months' tramp, in the character of a 

cadger and beggar, over England, I have not the least 

doubt but that he would be able to write an interesting 

work on the languages, secret and vulgar, of the lower 

orders. 

In the matter of slang, our studious friend would 

have to divide his time betwixt observation and research. 

Conversations on the outsides of omnibuses, 

on steamboat piers, or at railway termini, would demand 

his most attentive hearing, so would the knots of 

semi-decayed cabmen, standing about in bundles of

VIU 

PREFACE. 

wom-out great-coats 

and haybands, betwixt watering 

pails, and conversing in a dialect every third word of 

whicli is without home or respectable relations. He 

would also have to station himself for hours near 

gatherings of ragged boys playing or fighting, but ever 

and anon contributing to the note-book a pure street 

term. He would have to "hang about" lobbies, mark 

the refined 

word-droppings of magniloquent flunkies, 

" run after " all the popular preachers, go to the Inns 

of Court, be up all night and about all day—in fact, 

be a ubiquitarian, with a note-book and pencil in hand. 

As for research, he would have to turn over each 

-•page of our popular literature, wander through all the 

weekly serials, wade through the newspapers, fashionable 

and unfashionable, and subscribe to Mudie's, and 

scour the novels. This done, and if he has been an 

observant man, I wiU engage to say, that he has made 

a choice gathering, and that we may reasonably expect 

an interesting little book. 

I give this 

outline of preparatory study to show the 

reason the task has never been tmdertaken before. 

People in the present chase after respectability don't 

care to txim blackguards, and exchange cards with the 

Whitechapel Pecker or the Sharp's-alley Chicken, for 

the sake of a few vulgar, although curious words ; 

and 

we may rest assured that it is quite impossible to write 

any account of vulgar or low language, and remain 

seated on damask in one's own drawing room. 

But a

PREFACE. 

IX 

fortunate circumstance attended the compiler of the 

present work, and he has neither been required to reside 

in Seven Dials, visit 

the treadmill, or wander over the 

country in the character of a vagabond or a cadger. 

In collecting 

old ballads, penny histories, and other 

printed street narratives, as materials for a History of 

Cheap or Popular Literature, he frequently had occasion 

to purchase in Seven Dials and the Borough a few old 

songs or djdng speeches, from the chaunters and patterers 

who abound in those neighbourhoods. With 

some of these men (their names would not in the least 

interest the reader, and would only serve the purpose 

of making this Preface look lilie a vulgar page from 

the London Directory) an arrangement was made, that 

they should collect the cant and slang words used by 

the different wandering tribes of London and the 

country. Some of these chaunters are men of respectable 

education (although filling a vagabond's 

ciiUing), and can write good hands, and express themselves 

fluently, if not with orthographical correctness. 

To prevent deception and mistakes, the words and 

phrases sent in were checked off by other chaunters 

and tramps. Assistance was also sought and obtained, 

through an intelligent printer in Seven Dials, from the 

costermongers in London, and the pedlars and hucksters 

who traverse the country. In this manner the 

greater number of cant words were procured, very 

valuable help being continually derived from Mayhew^s

X 

PREFACE. 

London Labour and London Poor, a work whicli had 

gone over much of the same ground. The slang and 

vulgar expressions were gleaned from every source 

which appeared to offer any materials ; indeed the 

references attached to words in the Dictionary frequently 

indicate the channels which afforded them. 

Although in the Introduction I have divided cant 

from slang, and treated the subjects separately, yet in 

the Dictionary I have only, in a few instances, pointed 

out which are slang, or which are cant terms. The 

task would have been a difficult one. Many words 

which were once cant are slang now. 

and COVE are instances in point. 

terms, they are now only street vulgarisms. 

The words peig 

Once cant and secret 

The etymologies attempted are only given as contributions 

to the subject, and the derivation of no vulgar 

term is guaranteed. The origin of many street words 

will, 

perhaps, never be discovered, having commenced 

with a knot of illiterate persons, and spread amongst 

a public that cared not a fig for the history of the 

word, so long as it came to their tongues to give a 

vulgar piquancy to a joke, or relish 

to an exceedingly 

familiar conversation. The references and authorities 

given in italics frequently show only the direction or 

probable source of the etymology. The author, to 

avoid tedious verbiage, was obliged, in so small a work, 

to be curt in his notes and suggestions. 

He has to explain also that a few words will, pro-

PREFACE. 

XI 

bably, be noticed in the Slang and Cant Dictionary that 

are questionable as coming under either of those designations. 

These have been admitted because they 

were originally either vulgar terms, or the compiler 

had something novel to say concerning them. The 

makers of our large dictionaries have been exceedingly 

crotchety in their choice of what they considered respectable 

words. It is amusing to know that Richardson 

used the word humbug to explain the sense of 

other words, but omitted it in the alphabetical arrangement 

as not sufficiently respectable and ancient. The 

word SLANG, too, he served in the same way. 

Filthy and obscene words have been carefully excluded, 

although street -talk, unlicensed and unwritten, 

abounds in these. 

" Immodest words admit of no defence, 

For want of decency is want of sense." 

It appears from the calculations of philologists, that 

there are 38,000 words in the English language, including 

derivations. I believe I have, for the first 

time, in consecutive order, added at least 3,000 words 

to the previous stock,—vulgar and often very objectionable, 

but still terms in every-day use, and employed 

by thousands. It is not generally known, that the 

polite Lord Chesterfield once desired Dr. Johnson to 

compile a Slang Dictionary ; indeed, it was Chesterfield, 

some say, who first used the word humbug.

Xll 

PREFACE 

Words, like peculiar styles of dress, get into public 

favour, and come and go in fashion. When gi'eat 

favourites and universal they truly become household 

words, although generally considered slang, when their 

origin or antecedents are inquired into. 

A few errors of the press, I am sorry to say, may 

be noticed ; but, considering the novelty of the subject, 

and the fact that no fixed orthography of vulgar 

speech exists, it will, I hope, be deemed a not uninteresting 

essay on a new and very singular branch of 

Jiuman inquiry; for, as Mayhew remarks, "the whole 

subject of cant and slang is, to the philologist, replete 

with interest of the most profound character." 

The compiler will be much obliged by the receipt, 

THROUGH Mr. Cajiden Hotten, the publisher, 

OP ANY cant, slang, OR VULGAR WORDS NOT MEN- 

TIONED IN THE DICTIONARY. ThE PROBABLE ORIGIN, 

OB ETYMOLOGY, OF ANY FASHIONABLE OR UNFASHION- 

ABLE VULGARISM, WILL ALSO BE RECEIVED BY HIM 

WITH THANKS. 

Piccadilly, June dOth, 1859.

CONTENTS. 

THE HISTORY OF CANT, OR THE SECRET 

LANGUAGE OF VAGABONDS. 

PAGE 

Black and Coloured Vagabonds—Vagabonds all over 

Europe—Vagabonds Universal ... ... 1— 

Eiymology of Cant—Cant used in old times—Difference 

between Cant and Slang ... ... „. 5— 

The GiPSETS—Gipseys taught English Vagabonds 

The Gipsey-Vagabond alliance — The Origin of 

Cant —Vulgar words from the Gipsey—Gipsey 

eJement in the English language—The poet Moore 

on the origin of Cant—Borrow on the Gipsey 

language —The inventor of Canting not hanged ... 7-^15 

Old Cant words still used—Old Cant words with 

modern meanings — The words " Rum" and 

" Queer' explained — Old Cant words entirely 

obsolete ... ... ... ... .,. 16—49 

The Quxest "Roqus's Dictionary" ... ... 20--26 

"Jaw-breakers," or hard words, used as Cant—Were 

Highwaymen educated men ? —Vagabonds used 

Foreign words as Cant—The Lingua Franca, or 

Bastard Italian—Cant derived from Jews and 

Showmen— •Classic words used as Euglish Cant 

Old English words used as Cant—Old English 

words not fashionable now — Our old Authors 

very vulgar persons—Was Shakespere a pugilist ? 

— Old Dramatists used Cant words — Curious 

systems of Cant ... ... ... ... 26 Z6

XIV 

CONTENTS. 

ACCOUNT OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS USED BY 

VAGABONDS. 

Mendicant Fkeemasonrt — Hieroglyphics of Vagabonds 

— Maps used by Beggars — Account of a 

Cadger's Map — Explanation of the Hieroglyphics 

—Did the Gipseys invent them ? - The Murderer's 

Signal on the Gallows 

THE HISTORY OF SLANG, OR THE VULGAR 

LANGUAGE OF FAST LIFE. 

Slang at Babylon and Nineveh—Old English Slang 

Slang in the time of Cromwell ; and in the Court 

of Charles II. — Swift and Arbuthnot fond of 

Slang — The origin of "Cabbage"— "The Real 

Simon Pure"— Tom Brown and Ned Ward— 

Did Dr. Johnson compile a Slang Dictionary ? 

John Bee's absurd etymology of Slang—The true 

origin of the term—Derived from the Gipseys 

Bums and his fat friend, Grose—Slang used by 

all classes, High and Low—Slang in Parliament, 

and amongst our friends — New words not so 

reprehensible as old words burdened with strange 

meanings — The poor Foreigner's perplexity — 

Long and windy Slang words — Vulgar corruptions 

Fashionable Slang 

Pabliamentart Slang ... 

MiLITAET AND DaNDT SLANQ 

University Slang 

Religious Slang 

Legal Slang, or Slang amongst the LawyeiB 

Literary Slang, Punch on "Slang and Sanscrit" ... 

Theatrical Slang, or Slang both before and behind 

the curtain ... 

36—43 

44—56 

58 

60 

62 

64 

66 

70 

71 

75

CONTENTS. 

XV 

PAOR 

Civic Slang ... ... ... ... ... 77 

Slang Terms fob SIonev— Hei- Miijesty's coin id 

insulted by one hundred and thirty distinct 

Slang terms—Old Slang terms for money—The 

classical origin of Slang money terms — The 

terms used by the Ancient Romans vulgarisms 

in the Nineteenth Century ... ... ... 78—82 

Shopkeepers' Slang ... .. ... ... 82 

Workmen's Slang, or Slang in the workshop—Many 

Slang terms for money derived from operatives ... 83 

Slang Apologies for Oaths, or sham exclamations 

for passion and temper—Slang swearing ... 85 

Slang Terms for Drunkenness, and the graduated 

scale of fuddlement and intoxication ... ... 8G 

DICTIONARY OF MODERN SLANG, CANT, 

AND VULGAR WORDS; many with their 

etymologies traced, together with illustrations, 

and j-eferences to authorities ... ... ... 89 —249 

Some Account of thk Back Slang, the secret language 

of Oostermongers—The principle of the 

Back Slang—Boys and girls soon acquire it 

The Back Slang unknown to the Police—Costermongers' 

terms for money—Arithmetic amongst 

the Costetmongers ... ... ... ... 251—255 

Glossary of the Back Slang ... ... ... 257—262 

Some Account of the Rhyming Slang, the 

secret 

language of Chaunters and Patterers—The origin 

of the Rhyming Slang—Spoken principally by 

Vagabond Poets, Patterers, and Cheap Jacks 

Patterers "well up" in Street Slang—Curious 

Slang Letter from a Chaunter ... ... 203—268 

Gr.os3ARY OF the Rhtming Slang ... ... 269—273

XVI 

CONTENTS. 

The Biblioqbapht op Slang, Cant, and Vulgab 

Language, or a list of the books which have 

been consulted in the compilation of this work, 

PAGE 

comprising nearly every known treatise upon the 

Bubjecfc ... ... ... ... ... 275—290 

List of Abbbeviatioss ... ... ... 291 

Opinions of the Press upon the First Edition of this 

work—List of New Publications, &c. ... ...293—300

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THE HISTORY OF CANT, 

OR, 

THE 

SECRET LANGUAGE OF VAGABONDS. 

Cant and Slang are universal and world-wide. 

Nearly every nation on the face of the globe, 

polite and barbarous, may be divided into two 

portions, the stationary and the wandering, the 

civilised and the uncivilised, the respectable and 

the scoundrel,—those who have fixed abodes and 

avail themselves 

and those who go from place 

of the refinements of civilisation, 

to place picking up 

a precarious livelihood by petty sales, begging, or 

theft. This peculiarity is to be observed amongst 

the heathen tribes of the southern hemisphere, as 

well as the oldest and most refined countries of 

Europe. As Mayhew very pertinently remarks, 

" it would appear, that not only are all races 

B

'2 

BLACK AND COLOURED VAGABONDS. 

divisible 

into wanderers and settlers, but tliat each 

civilised or settled tribe has generally some wandering 

horde intermingled with, and in a measure 

preying upon it." In South Africa, the 

naked and miserable Hottentots are pestered by 

the still more abject Sonquas ; and it may be 

some satisfaction for us to know that our old 

enemies at the Cape, the Kafirs, are 

troubled with 

a tribe of rascals called Fingoes,—the former term, 

we are informed by travellers, signifying beggars, 

and the latter wanderers and outcasts. In South 

America, and among the islands of the Pacific, 

matters are pretty much the same. 

Sleek and fat 

rascals, with not much inclination towards honesty, 

fatten, or rather fasten, like body insects, upon 

other rascals, who would be equally sleek and 

fat but for their vagabond dependents. Luckily 

for respectable persons, however, vagabonds, both 

at home and abroad, show certain outward peculiarities 

which distinguish them from the great 

mass of lawful people off whom they feed and 

fatten. Personal observation, and a little research 

into books, enable me to mark these external 

traits. 

The wandering races are remarkable for the 

development of the bones of the face, as the jaws, 

cheek-bones, &c., high crowned, stubborn-shaped 

heads, quick restless eyes,* and hands nervously 

* " Swarms of vagabouds, whose eyes were so sharp as Lynx." 

— BuUein's Simples and Surgery, 1562.

VAGABONDS ALL OVER EUROPE. 3 

itching to be doing;* for their love of gambling, 

—staking their very existence upon a single cast 

for sensuality of all kinds ; and for their use of a 

CANT language with which to conceal their designs 

and plunderings. 

The secret jargon, or rude speech, of the vagabonds 

who hang upon the Hottentots is termed cuze-cat. 

In Finland, the fellows who steal seal skins, pick 

the pockets of bear-skin overcoats, and talk 

are termed Lappes. 

Cant, 

In France, the secret language 

of highwaymen, housebreakers, and pickpockets is 

named Argot. The brigands and more romantic 

rascals of Spain, term their private tongue Germania, 

or Robbers' Language. Ro 'Jiwalsch, or Red 

Italian, is synonymous with Cant and thieves' talk 

in Germany. The vulgar dialect of Malta, and the 

Scala towns of the Levant—imported into this 

country and incorporated with English cant—is 

known as the Lingua Franca, or bastard Italian. 

And the crowds of lazy beggars that infest the 

streets of Naples and Rome, and the brigands that 

Albert Smith used to describe near Pompeii—stopping 

a railway train, and deliberately rifling the 

pockets and baggage of the passengers—their secret 

language is termed Gergo. In England, as we all 

know, it is called Cant—often improperly Slang. 

Most nations, then, may boast, or rather lament, 

* Mayhevo has a curious idea upon the habitual restlessness of 

the nomadic tribes, i.e., " Whether it be that in the mere act 

of wandering, there is a greater determination of blood to tlie 

B-2

4 VAGABONDS UNIVERSAL. 

a vulgar tongue, formed principally from tlie 

national language, the hereditary property of 

thieves, tramps, and beggars,—the pests of civilised 

communities. The formation of these secret tongues 

vary, of course, with the circumstances surrounding 

the speakers. A writer in Notes and Queries,* has 

well remarked, that " the investigation of the origin 

and principles of Cant and Slang language opens a 

curious field of enquiry, replete with considerable 

interest to the philologist and the philosopher. 

affords a remarkable instance of lingual contrivance, 

which, without the introduction of much 

arbitrary matter, has developed a system of communicating 

ideas, having all the advantages of a 

foreiorn language." 

An inquiry into the etymology of foreign vulgar 

secret tongues, and their analogy with that spoken 

in England, would be curious and interesting in 

the extreme, but neither present space nor personal 

acquirements permit of the task, 

It 

and therefore the 

writer confines himself to a short account of the 

origin of English Cant. 

The terms cant and canting were doubtless 

derived from chaunt or chaunting,—the 

" whining 

tone, or modulation of voice adopted by beggars, 

with intent to coax,' wheedle, or cajole by presurface 

of the body, and consequently a less quantity sent to the 

brain." London Labov/r, vol. i., p. 2. 

* Mr. Thos. Lawrence, who promised an Mi/moloffical, Ccmt, 

and Slang Dictionary. Where is the book ?

ETYMOLOGY OF CANT. 5 

tensions of wretchedness."* For the origin of 

the other application of the word CANT, pulpit 

hypocrisy, we are indebted to a pleasant page 

in the Spectator (No. 147):— " Cant is by 

some people derived from one Andrew Cant, 

who, they say, was a Presbyterian minister in 

some illiterate part of Scotland, who by exercise 

and use had obtained the faculty, alias gift, of 

talking in the pulpit in such a dialect that 'tis 

said he was understood by none but his own 

congregation,—and not by all of them. Since 

Master Canfs time it has been understood in 

a larger sense, and signifies all exclamations, 

whinings, unusual tones, and, in fine, all praying 

and preaching like the unlearned of the Presbyterians." 

This anecdote is curious, if it is not 

correct. It was the custom in Addison's time 

to have a fling at the blue Presbyterians, and the 

mention made by Whifelocke of Andrew Cant, 

a fanatical Scotch preacher, and the squib upon 

the same worthy, in Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence 

Displayed, may probably have started the whimsical 

etymology. As far as we are concerned, 

however, in the present inquiry, CANT was derived 

from chaunt, a beggar's whine; 

CHAUNTING being 

the recognised terra amongst, beggars to this day 

for begoring orations and street whinings; and 

CHAUNTER, a Street talker and tramp, the very 

term still used by strollers and patterers. The use 

* Richardson's Dictionary,

6 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CANT AND SLANG. 

of the word CANT, amongst beggars, must certainly 

have commenced at a very early date, for we find 

" TO CANTE, to speake," in Harman's list of 

Rogues' Words in the year 1566; and Harrison 

about the same time,* in speaking of beggars and 

Gipseys, says, "they have devised a language among 

themselves which they name CANTING, but others 

Pedlars' Frenche." 

Now the word cant in its old sense, and SLANGf 

in its modern application, although used by good 

writers and persons of education as synonymes, are 

in reality quite distinct and separate terms. Cant, 

apart from religious hypocrisy, refers to the old 

secret language, by allegory or distinct terms, of 

Gipseys, thieves, tramps, and beggars. Slang 

represents that evanescent, vulgar language, ever 

changing with fashion 

and taste, which has principally 

come into vogue during the last 

seventy or 

eighty years, spoken by persons in every grade of 

life, rich and poor, honest and dishonest.^ Cant 

* Description of England, prefixed to Holinshed's CJironicU. 

t The word Slang, as will be seen in the chapter upon that 

subject, is purely a Gipsey term, although now-a-days it refers to 

low or vulgar language of any kind,—other than cant. Slanq 

and Gibberish in the Gipsey language are synonymous ; but, aa 

English adoptions, have meanings very difiFerent from that given 

to them in their original. 

J The vulgar tongue consists of two parts : the first is the 

Cant Language; the second, those burlesque phrases, quaint 

allusions, and nick names for persons, things, and places, which, 

from long uninterrupted usage, are made classical by prescription. 

Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1st edition, 1785.

THE GIPSEYS. 7 

is old ; Slang is always modern and changing. To 

illustrate the difference: a thief in Cant language 

would term a horse a prancer or a prad,—while 

in slang, a man of fashion would speak of it as a 

BIT OF BLOOD, or a spanker, or a neat tit. 

A handkerchief, too, would be a billy, a fogle, 

or a KENT RAG, in the secret lano-uage of low 

characters,—whilst amongst vulgar persons, or 

those who aped their speech, it would be called a 

RAG, a wipe, or a clout. Cant was formed for 

purposes of secrecy. Slang is indulged in from a 

desire to appear familiar with life, gaiety, townhumour, 

and with the transient nick names and 

street jokes of the day. Both Cant and Slang, I 

am aware, are often huddled together as synonymes, 

but they are distinct terms, and as 

such should be 

used. 

To the Gipseys, beggars and thieves areundoubt-- 

cdly indebted for their Cant language. The Gipseys 

landed in this country early in the reign of Henry 

the Eighth. They were at first treated as conjurors 

and magicians,—indeed they were hailed by the 

populace with as much applause as a company of 

English theatricals usually receive on arriving in a 

distant colony. They came here with all their old 

Eastern arts of palmistry, fortune-telling, doubling 

money by incantation and burial,— shreds of pagan 

idolatry; and they brought with them, also, the 

dishonesty of the lower caste of Asiatics, and the 

vagabondism they had acquired since leaving their

8 GIPSEYS TAUGHT ENGLISH VAGABONDS. 

ancient dwelling places in the East, many centuries 

before. They possessed, also, a language quite 

distinct from anything that had been heard in 

England, and they claimed the title of Egyptians, 

and as such, when their thievish wandering propensities 

became a public nuisance, were cautioned 

and proscribed in a royal proclamation by Henry 

VIII.* The Gipseys were not long in the country 

before they found native imitators. Vagabondism 

is peculiarly catching. The idle, the vagrant, and 

the criminal outcasts of society, caught an idea 

from the so called Egyptians—soon corrupted to 

Gipseys. They learned from them how to tramp, 

sleep under hedges and trees, to tell fortunes, and 

find stolen property for a consideration—frequently, 

as the saying runs, before it was lost. They also 

learned the value and application of a secret tongue, 

indeed all the accompaniments of maunding and 

imposture, except thieving and begging, which 

were well known in this country long before the 

Gipseys paid it a visit,— 

perhaps the only negative 

good that can be said in their favour. 

Harman, in the year 1566, wrote a singular, not 

to say droll book, entitled, A Caveat for commen 

Cvrsetors, vulgarley called 

Vagahones, newly augmented 

and inlarged, wherein the history and various 

descriptions of rogues and vagabonds are given, 

together with their canting tongue. This book, 

* " Outlandish people calling themselves £gyptians." 1530.

THE GIPSEY-VAGABOND ALLIANCE. 9 

the earliest of the kind, gives the singular fact 

that within a dozen years after the landing of 

the Gipseys, companies 

of English vagrants were 

formed, places of meeting appointed, districts for 

plunder and begging operations 

marked out, and 

rules agreed to for their common management. 

In some cases Gipseys joined the English gangs, in 

others English vagrants joined the Gipseys. 

The 

fellowship was found convenient and profitable, as 

both parties were aliens to the laws and customs of 

the country, living in a great measure in the 

open 

air, apart from the lawful public, and often meeting 

each other on the same bye-path, or in the same 

retired valley ;— but seldom intermarrying, and 

entirely adopting each other's habits. The common 

people, too, soon began to consider them as 

of one 

family,—all rogues, and from Egypt. The secret 

language spoken by the Gipseys, principally Hindoo 

and extremely barbarous to English ears, was 

found incomprehensible and very difficult to learn. 

The Gipseys, also, found the same difficulty with 

the English language. A rude, rough, and most 

singular compromise was made, and a mixture of 

Gipsey, Old English, newly-coined words, and 

cribbings from any foreign, and therefore secret 

language, mixed and jumbled together, formed 

what has ever since been known as the canting 

LANGUAGE, or PEDLEii's FRENCH ; or, during 

the past century, ST. Giles' greek.

10 THE OKIGIN OF CANT. 

Such was the origin of CANT ; and in illustration 

of its blending with the Gipsey or Cingari 

tongue, dusky and Oriental from the sunny plains 

of Central Asia, I am enabled to 

give the accompanying 

list of Gipsey, and often Hindoo words, 

with, in many instances, their English adoptions. 

Gipsey. 

English. 

BAMBOOZLE, to perplex or BAMBOOZLE, to delude, cheat, 

mislead by hiding. Mod Gip. or make a fool of any one. 

BOSH, rubbish, nonsense, offal. BOSH, stupidity, foolishness. 

Gipsey and Persian. 

CHEESE, thing or article, CHEESE, or cheesy, a first- 

" that's the cheese," or thing. rate or very good article. 

Gipsey and Hindoo. 

CHIVE, the tongue. Gipsey. CHIVE, or cniVEr, a shout, or 

loud-tongued. 

DADE, or Dadi, a father. Gip- DADDY, nursery term for 

sey. 

father.* 

DISTARABIN, a prison. Gip- STURABIN, a prison. 

GAD, or Gadsi, a wife. 

Gipsey. 

GIBBERISH, the language of 

Gipseys, synonymous with 

Slang. Gipsey. 

Chur, a 

ISCHUR, ScHUR, or 

thief. Gipsey and Hindoo. 

LAB, a word. Gipsey. 

LOWE, or LowR, money. Gipsey 

and Wallachian. 

GAD, a female scold ; a woman 

who tramps over the country 

with a beggar or hawker. 

GIBBERISH, rapid and unmeaning 

speech. 

CUR, a mean or dishonest man. 

LOBS, words. 

LOWRE, money. Ancient Cant.' 

* In those instances, indicated by a *, it is impossible to say 

whether or not we are indebted to the Gipseys for the terms. 

Dad, in Welsh, also signifies a father. Cur is stated to be a mere 

term of reproach, like " Dog," which in all European languages 

has been applied in an abusive sense. Objections may also be 

raised against Gad and Maund.

VULGAK WOKDS FROM THE GIPSEY. 11 

Oipsey. 

MAMI, a grandmother. 

Gipsey. 

MANG, or Maung, to beg. 


MORT, a free woman,—one for 

common use amongst the 

male Gipseys, so appointed 

by Gipsey custom. Gipsey, 

MU, the mouth. Gipsey and 

Hindoo. 

MULL, to spoil or destroy. 

Gipsey. 

PAL, a brother. Gipsey. 

pane', water. Gipsey. Hindoo, 

PAWNEE. 

TAWNO, little. Gipsey. 

TSCHIB, or Jibb, the tongue. 


English. 

MAMMY, or Mamma, a mother, 

formerly sometimes used for 

grandmother. 

MAUND, to beg. 

MORT, or MoTT, a prostitute. 

MOO, or MuN, the mouth. 

MULL, to spoil, or bungle. 

PAL, a partner, or relation. 

PARNEY, rain. 

RIG, a performance. Gipsey. RIG, a frolic, or " spree." 

ROMANY, speech or language. 

Spanish Gipsey. 

ROMANY, 

guage. 

the Gipsey lan- 

ROME, or RoMM, a man. Gipsey 

RUM, a good man, or thing. 

a/nd Coptick, 

In the Robbers' language of 

Spain (partly Gipsey) EUM 

signifies a harlot. 

ROMEE, a woman. Gipsey. RUMY, a good woman or girl. 

SLANG, the language spoken SLANG, low, vulgar, unauthorised 

by Gipseys. Gipsey. 

language. 

TANNY, Teeny, Uttle. 

JIBB, the tongue; Jabber,* 

quick-tongued, or fast talk. 

Here then we have the remarkable fact of several 

words of pure Gipsey and Asiatic origin going 

the round of Europe, passing into this country 

before the Reformation, and coming down to 

* Jabber, I am reminded, may be only another form of 

qabber, gab, very common in Old English, from the Anglo- 

Saxon, GiEBBAN.

12 VULGAR WORDS FROM THE GIPSEY. 

US through numerous generations purely in the 

mouths of the people. They have seldom been 

written or used in books, and simply as vulgarisms 

have they reached our time. Only a few are now 

cant, and some are household words. The word 

JOCKEY, as applied to a dealer or rider of horses, 

came from the Gipsey, and means in that language 

a whip. Our standard dictionaries give, of course, 

none but conjectural etymologies. 

Another word, 

BAMBOOZLE, has been a sore difficulty with lexicographers. 

It is not in the old dictionaries, 

although extensively used in familiar or popular 

language for the last two centuries ; in fact, the 

very word that Swift, Butler, L'Estrange, and 

Arbuthnot would pick out at once as a telling and 

most serviceable term. It is, as we have seen, from 

the Gipsey ; and here I must state that it was 

Boucher who first drew attention to the fact, 

although in his remarks on the dusky tongue, he 

has made a ridiculous mistake 

by concluding it to 

be identical with its offspring, cant. Other 

parallel instances, with but slight variations from 

the old Gipsey meanings, could 

be mentioned, but 

sufficient examples have been adduced to show 

that Marsden, the great Oriental scholar in the 

last century, when he declared before the 

Society 

of Antiquaries that the Cant of English thieves 

and beggars had nothing to do with the language 

spoken by the despised Gipsey s, was in error. 

Had

GIPSEY ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 13 

the Gipsey tongue been analysed and committed to 

writing three centuries ago, there is every probability 

that many scores of words now in common 

use could be at once traced to its source. 

Instances 

continually occur now-a-days of street vulgarisms 

ascending to the drawing-rooms of respectable 

society. 

Why, then, may not the Gipsey-vagabond 

alHance three centuries ago have contributed its 

quota of common words to popular speech ? 

I feel confident there is a Gipsey element in the 

English language hitherto unrecognised ; slender it 

may be, but not, therefore, unimportant. 

" Indeed," says Moore the poet, in a humorous 

little book, Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress, 1819, 

" the Gipsey language, with the exception of such 

terms as relate to their own peculiar customs, differs 

but little from the regular Flash or Cant language." 

But this was magnifying the importance 

of the alliance. Moore knew nothing of the 

Gipsey tongue other than the few Cant words put 

into the mouths of the beggars, in Beaumont and 

Fletcher's Com,edy of the Beggar's Bush, and Ben 

Jonson's Masque of the Gipseys Metamorphosed,— 

hence his confounding Cant with Gipsey speech, 

and appealing to the Glossary of Cant for so called 

" Gipsey" words at the end of the Life of Bamfylde 

Moore Carew, to bear him out in his assertion. 

Still his remark bears much truth, and proof 

would have been found long ago if any scholar

14 BORROW ON THE GIPSEY LANGUAGE. 

had taken the trouble to examine the " barbarous 

jargon of Cant," and to have compared it with 

Gipsey speech. As George Borrow, in his Account 

of the Gipseys in Spain, eloquently concludes his 

second volume, speaking of the connection of the 

Gipseys with Europeans :— " Yet from this 

temporary 

association were produced two results : 

European 

fraud became sharpened by coming into contact 

with Asiatic craft ; whilst European tongues, 

by imperceptible degrees, became recruited with 

various words 

(some of them wonderfully expressive), 

many of which have long been stumblingblocks 

to the philologist, who, whilst stigmatising 

them as words of mere vulgar invention, or of unknown 

origin, has been far from dreaming that a 

little more research or reflection would have proved 

their affinity to the Sclavonic, Persian, or 

Romaic, 

or perhaps to the mysterious object of his veneration, 

the Sanscrit, the sacred tongue of the palmcovered 

regions of Ind ; words originally introduced 

into Europe by objects too miserable to occupy for 

a moment his lettered attention,—the despised denizens 

of the tents of Roma." 

But the Gipseys, their speech, their character 

bad enough as all the world testifies—their history 

and their religious belief, have been totally disregarded, 

and their poor persons buffeted and jostled 

about until it is a wonder that any trace of origin 

or national speech exists in them. On the con-

THE INVENTOR OF CANTING NOT HANGED. 15 

tinent they received better attention at the hands 

of learned men. Their lansruage was taken 

down, their 

history traced, and their extraordinary 

customs and practice of living in the open air, 

and eating raw or putrid meat, explained. They 

ate reptiles and told fortunes, because they had 

learnt it through their forefathers centuries back 

in Hindostan, and they devoured carrion because 

the Hindoo proverb— " that which God kills is 

better than that killed by man"*—was still in 

their remembrance. 

Grellman, a learned German, 

was their principal historian, and to him we are 

almost entirely indebted for the little we know of 

their language.f 

GiPSEY then started, 

and partially merged into 

CANT, and the old story told by Harrison and 

others, that the first inventor of canting was 

hanged for his pains, would seem to be a fable, for 

jargon as it is, it was, doubtless, of gradual formation, 

like all other languages or systems of speech. 

The Gipseys at the present day all know the old 

cant words, as well as their own tongue,—or 

rather what remains of it. As Borrow states, " the 

dialect of the English Gipseys is mixed with Enghsh 

words."J 

Those of the tribe who frequent fairs, 

* This very proverb was mentioned by a young Gipsey to 

Crahb, a few years ago. Gipseys Advocate, p. 14. 

+ I except, of course, the numerous writers who have followed 

Grellman, and based their researches upon his labours. 

X Olfseys of Spain, vol. i., p. 18.

16 OLD CANT WORDS STILL USED. 

and mix -with English tramps, readily learn the 

new words, as they are adopted by what Harman 

calls, " the fraternity of vagabonds." Indeed, the 

old CANT is a common languasre to vagrants of all 

descriptions and origin scattered over the British 

Isles. 

Ancient EngHsh CANT has considerably altered 

since the first dictionary was compiled by Harman, 

in 1566. A great many words are unknown in 

the present tramps' and thieves' vernacular. Some 

of them, however, bear still their old definitions, 

while others have adopted fresh meanings,— to 

escape detection, I suppose. " Abraham man " is 

yet seen in our modern sham Abraham, or play 

THE OLD SOLDIER, i.e., to feign sickness or distress. 

" Autum" is still a church or chapel 

amongst Gipseys; and " beck," a constable, is our 

modern cant and slang beek, a policeman or magistrate. 

" Bene," or bone, stands for good in 

Seven Dials, and the back streets of Westminster 

and " bowse" is our modern booze, to drink or 

fuddle. A *• bowsing ken" was the old cant 

term for a public house, and boozing ken, in 

modem cant, has precisely the same meaning. 

"Bufe" was then the term for a dog, now it is 

buffer,—frequently applied to men. " Cassan" 

is both old and modern cant for cheese; the same 

may be said of "chattes" or chatts, the 

gallows. " COFE," or COVE, is still the vulgar

OLD CANT WORDS WITH MODERN MEANINGS. 17 

synonyme for a man. 

" Drawers" was liose, or 

*' 

hosen,"—now applied to the lining for trousers. 

" dudes" was cant for clothes, we now say 

DUDDS. "Flag" is still a fourpenny piece; and 

"fylche" means to rob. "Ken" is a house, 

and "lick" means to thrash; " prancer" is yet 

known amongst rogues as a horse; and " to PRIG," 

amongst high and low, is to steal. 

Three centuries 

ago, if one beggar said anything disagreeable to 

another, the person annoyed would say " STOW 

YOU," or hold your peace; low people now say 

vSTOW IT, equivalent to "be quiet." "Trine" is 

still to hang; " WYN" yet stands for a penny. 

And many other words, as will be seen in the 

glossary, still retain their ancient meaning. 

As specimens of those words which have altered 

their original cant signification, I may instance 

" CHETE," now written cheat. Chete was in 

ancient cant what chop is 

in the Canton-Chinese, 

—an almost inseparable adjunct. Everything 

was termed a CHETE, and qualified by a substantive-adjective, 

which showed what kind of a 

CHETE was meant ; for instance, "CRASHING 

chetes" were teeth ; a " moffling chete," a 

napkin; a "GRUNTING CHETE," a pig, &c. &c. 

Cheat now-a-days means to defraud or swindle, 

and lexicographers have tortured etymology for an 

original—but without success. Escheats and escheatours 

have been named, but with great doubts 

C

18 THE WORDS " RUM" AJJD " QUEER" EXPLAINED. 

indeed, Stevens, the learned commentator on 

Shakespere, acknowledged that he " did not recollect 

to have met with the word cheat in our ancient 

writers."* Cheat, to defraud, then, is no other 

than an old Cant term, somewhat altered in its 

meaningjf and as such it should be described in 

the next Etymological Dictionary. Another instance 

of a change in the meaning of the 

old Cant, 

but the retention of the word is seen in " CLY," 

formerly to take or steal, now a pocket;—remembering 

a certain class of low characters, a curious 

connection between the two meanings will be discovered. 

*' 

Make" was a halfpenny, we now say 

MAG,—MAKE being modern Cant for appropriating,— 

" convey the wise it call." " Milling" 

stood for stealing, it is now a pugilistic term for 

fighting or beating. " Nab" was a head,—low 

people now say NOB, the former meaning, in 

modern Cant, to steal or seize. " Pek " was 

meat, — we still say peckish, when hungry. 

*' Pkygges, dronken Tinkers or beastly people,'^ as 

old Harman wrote, would scarcely be imderstood 

now; a PRIG, in the 19th century, is a pickpocket 

or thief. " Quier," or queer, like cheat, 

was a very common prefix, and meant bad or 

• Sliakes. Hen. IV., part 2, act ii, scene 4. 

t It is easy to see how cheat became synonymous with " fraud," 

when we remember that it was one of the most common words 

of the greatest class of cheats in the country.

OLD CANT WORDS ENTIRELY OBSOLETE. 19 

wicked,—it now means odd, curious, or strange ; 

but to the ancient cant we are indebted for 

the word, which etymologists should remember.* 

" Rome," or rum, formerly meant good, or of the 

first quality, and was extensively used like cheat 

and queer —indeed as an adjective it was the opposite 

of the latter. Rum now means curious, and is 

synonymous with queer, thus,—a " RUMMY old 

fellow," or a " queer old man." Here again we 

see the origin of an every day word, scouted by 

lexicographers and snubbed by respectable persons, 

but still a word of frequent and popular use. 

" Yannam" meant bread, pannum is the word 

now. Other instances could be pointed out, but 

they will be observed in the dictionary. 

Several words are entirely obsolete. 

" Alybbeg" 

no longer means a bed, nor " askew" a cup. 

" BoOGET,"t now-a-days, would not be understood 

for a basket; neither would " gan" pass current 

for mouth. 

"Fullams" was the old cant term for 

false or loaded dice, and although used 

by Shake- 

* I am reminded by an eminent philologist that the origin of 

QUEER is seen in the German, quer, crooked,—hence "odd." 

I agree with this etymology, but still have reason to believe that 

the word was/r«< used in this country in a cant sense. Is it 

mentioned any where as a respectable term before 1500? If 

not, it had a vulgar or cant introduction into this country. 

t BooGET properly signifies a leathern wallet, and is probably 

derived from the low Latin, BULGA. A tinker's budget is from 

the same source. 

C2

20 THE OLDEST " KOGUES' DICTIONARY." 

spere in this sense, is now unknown and obsolete. 

Indeed, as Tom Moore somewhere remarks, the 

present Greeks of St. Giles, themselves, would be 

thoroughly puzzled by many of the ancient canting 

songs,—taking for example, the first verse of an 

old favourite 

Bing out, bien Morts, and toure and toure, 

Bing out, bien Morts, and toure; 

For all your duds are bing'd awast 

The bien cove hath the loure.* 

But I think I cannot do better than present to 

the reader at once an entire copy of the first 

Canting Dictionary ever compiled. As before 

mentioned, it was the work of one Thos. Harman, 

a gentleman who lived in the days of Queen 

Elizabeth. Some writers have remarked that 

Deckerf was the first to compile a Dictionary of 

the vagabonds' tongue; whilst Borrow, J and Moore, 

the poet, stated that Richard Head performed that 

* Which, literally translated, means : 

Go out, good girls, and look and see, 

Go out, good girls, and see 

For all your clothes are carried away, 

And the good man has the money. 

t Who wrote about the year 1610. 

+ Gipseys of Spain, vol. i., p. 18. Borrow further commits 

himself by remarking that "Head's Vocabulary has always 

been accepted as the speech of the English Gipseys." Nothing 

of the kind. Head professed to have lived with the Gipseys, but 

in reality filched his words from Decker and Bronie.

THE OLDEST " EOGUES' DICTIONARY." 21 

service in his Life of an English Rogue, 

in the year 1680. 

published 

All these statements are equally 

incorrect, for the first attempt was made more than 

a century before the latter work was issued. The 

quaint spelling and old-fashioned phraseology are 

preserved, and the reader will quickly detect many 

vulgar street words, old acquaintances, dressed in 

antique garb.* 

A BRA HA M- MEN, be those that fayn themselves to have beene 

mad, and have bene kept either in Bethelem, or in some 

other pryson a good time. 

ALTBBEG,9.heAAe>. 

ASKEW, a cuppe. 

^[77'£'J/^,achurche. 

A UTEM MORTES, married wemen as chaste as a cowe. 

BAUDYE BASKETS, bee women who goe with baskets and 

capcases on their armes, wherein they have laces, pinnes, 

nedles, whyte inkel, and round sylke gyrdels of all colours. 

BECK [Beek], a constable. 

BELLY-CHETE, apron. 

BENE, good. 

Benar, better. 

BENSHIP, very good. 

BLETING CHETE, a calfe or sheepe. 

BOOGET, a travelling tinker's baskete. 

BORDE, a shilling. 

BOUNG, a purse [Priesic, pong]. 

BOWSE, drink. 

BOWSING-KEN, a alehouse. 

BUPE [buffer, a man], a dogge. 

BYNGE A WASTE, go you hence. 

CACKLING-CHETE, a coke [cock], or capon. 

CASSAN [casaam], cheese. 

CASTERS, a eloake. 

* The modem meanings of a few of the old cant words are 

given in brackets.

22 THE OLDEST " KOGUES' DICTIONARY " 

CATETH, "the vpright Cofe cateth to the Roge" [probably a 

shortening or misprint of Canteth]. 

CHATTES, the gallowes. 

CHETE [see what has been previously said about this word], 

CL Y [a pocket], to take, receive, or have. 

COPE [cove], a person. 

COMMISSION [mish], a shirt. 

COUNTERFET CRANKE, these that do counterfet the Cranke 

be yong knaves and yonge harlots, that deeply dissemble 

the falling sicknes. 

CRANKE [cranky, foolish], falling evil [or wasting sickness]. 

CRASHING-CHETES, teeth. 

CUFFEN, a manne [a cuif in Northumberland and Scotland 

signifies a lout or awkward fellow]. 

DARKEMANS, the night. 

DELL, a yonge wench. 

DEWSE-A-VYLE, the countrey. 

BOCK, to deflower. 

BOXES, harlots. 

BRA WERS, hosen. 

BUBES [or dudds], clothes. 

FAMBLES, handes. 

FAMBLING-CHETE, a ring on one's hand. 

FLAGG, a groat. 

FRA TER, a beggar wyth a false paper. 

FRESRE- WATER-MARINERS, these kind of caterpillers 

counterfet great losses on the sea:— their shippes were 

di'owned in the playne of Salisbury. 

FYLCHE, to robbe : Fylchman [a robber]. 

GA GE, a quart pot. 

GAN, a mouth. 

GENTRY COFE, a noble or gentle man. 

GENTRY-COFES-KEN, a noble or gentle man's house. 

GENTRY MORT, a noble or gentle woman. 

GERRY, excrement. 

GLASYERS, eyes. 

GLYMMAR, fyer. 

QRANNAM, come.

THE OLDEST " BOGUES' DICTIONAEY." 23 

GRUNTING-CHETE, a pygge. 

OYB, a writing. 

GYGER [jigger], a dore. 

HEARING-CHETES, eares. 

JARKE, a seale, 

JARKEMAN, one who make writings and set seales for [counterfeit] 

licences and pasports. 

KEN, a house. 

KYNCHEN CO [or cove\, a young boye trained up like a 

" Kynching Morte." [From the German diminutive Kindschen.^ 

KYNCHING MORTE, is a little gyrle, carried at their mothers' 

backe in a slate, or sheete, who brings them up sauagely. 

LAG, water. 

LAG OF DUDES, a bucke [or basket] of clothes. 

LAGE, to washe. 

LAP, butter, mylke, or whey. 

LIGHTMANS, the day. 

LOWING-CHETE, a cowe. 

LOWRE, money. 

LUBBARES,— " sturdy iM66arc«," country bumpkins, or men 

of a low degree. 

LYB-BEG, B^hedi. 

irC/r^ [lick], to beate. 

LYP, to lie down. 

LYPKEN, a house to lye in. 

MAKE\m?t.^, a halfpenny. 

MARGERI PRATER, a hen. 

MILLING, to steale [by sending a child in at the window]. 

MOFLING-CHETE, a napkin. 

MORTES [motts], harlots. 

MYLL, to robbe. 

MYNT, gold. 

NAB [nob], a heade. 

NABCHET, a hat or cap. 

NASE, dronken. 

NOSEGENT, a nunne.

24 THE OLDEST " ROGUES' DICTIONARY." 

PALLYARD, a borne beggar [who counterfeits sickness, or incurable 

sores. They are mostly Welshmen, Harmau says]. 

PA RAM, myIke. 

P4ri?/C0, a priest. 

PATRICOS KINCHEN, a pygge [a satirical hit at the church, 

Patrico meaning a parson or priest, and Kinchen his little 

boy or girl]. 

PEK [peckish], meat. 

POPPELARS, porrage. 

PRAT, a buttocke. 

PRATLING-CHETE, a toung. 

PRA UNCER, a horse. 

PRIGGER OF PRA UNCERS, be horse stealers, for to prigge 

signifieth in their language to steale, and a Pi'auncer is a 

horse, so being put together, the matter was playn. [Thus 

•writes old Thomas Harman, who concludes his 

description 

of this order of "pryggers," by very quietly saying, "I 

had the best gelding stolen out of my pasture, that I had 

amongst others, whyle this book was first a printing."] 

PRTGGES, dronken Tinkers, or beastly people. 

QUACKING-CHETE, a drake or duck. 

QUAROMES, a body. 

QUIER [queer], badde [see what has been previously said about 

this word]. 

QUTER CRAMP-RINGES, boltes or fetters. 

QUIER CUFFIN, the iustice of peace. 

QUYER-KYN, a pryson house. 

RED SEA NEE, a drake or ducke. 

ROGER, a goose. 

ROME, goode [now curious, noted, or remarkable in any way. 

Rum is the modern orthography]. 

ROME BOUSE [rum booze] wyne. 

ROME MORT, the Queene [Elizabeth]. 

ROME VYLE [or Rum-ville], London. 

RUFF PECK, baken [short bread, common in old times at farm 

houses]. 

RUFFMANS, the woods or bushes. 

SALOMON, a alter or masse. 

SKYPPER, a bame.

which 

THE OLDEST " ROGUES' DICTIOXARY." 25 

SLA TE, a sheete or shetes. 

SMELLING CHETE, a nose. 

SMELLING CHETE, a garden or orchard. 

SNOWT FA YRE [said of a woman who has a pretty face or is 

comely]. 

STALL [to initiate a beggar or rogue into the rights and privileges 

of the canting order. Harman relates, that when an 

upright-man, or initiated, first-class rogue, "mete any beggar, 

whether he be sturdy or impotent, he will demand of him 

whether ever he was ' stalled to the roge' or no. If he say he 

was, he will know of whom, and his name yt stalled him. 

And if he be not learnedly able to show him the whole 

circumstance thereof, he will spoyle him of his money, 

either of his best garment, if it be worth any money, and 

haue him to the bowsing ken : is, to some typpling 

house next adjoyninge, and layth there to gage the best 

thing that he hath for twenty pence or two shillings : this 

man obeyeth for feareof beatinge. Then dooth this upright 

man call for a gage of bowse, which is a quarte potte of 

drink, and powres the same vpon his peld pate, adding 

these words,— I, G. P. do stalle the, W. T. to the Roge, and 

that from henceforth it shall be lawfull for thee to cant, 

that is to aske or begge for thi liuiug in al places." Something 

like this treatment is the popular idea of Freemasonry, 

and what schoolboys term " freeing." 

STAMPES, legges. 

STAMPERS, shoes. 

STA ULING KEN, a house that will receyue stollen wares. 

STA WLINGE-KENS, tippling houses. 

STO W YOU [stow it], hold your peace. 

STRIKE, to steale. 

STROMMELL, strawe. 

SWADDER, or Pedler [a man who hawks goods]. 

THE HIGH PAD, the highway. 

THE RUFFIAN CLY THEE, the devil take thee. 

TOGEMANS [togg], a cloake. 

TOGMAN, a coate. 

TO BOWSE, to drinke. 

TO CANTE, to speake. 

TO CLY THE QERKE, fco be whipped. 

TO COUCH A HOGSHEAD, to lie down and slepe.

26 " JAW-BREAKEES," OR HARD WORDS, USED IN CANT. 

TO CUTTE, to say {cut it is modern slang for " be quiet "]. 

TO CUT BENE WEYDDES, to speake or give good words. 

TO CUTTE QUYER WEYDDES, to giue euil words or euil 

TO CUT BENLE, to speak gentle. 

TO DUP YE GYGER [jigger], to open the dore. 

TO FYLCHE, to robbe. 

TO HEUE A BOUGH, to robbe or rifle aboweth [booth]. 

TO MA UNDE, to aske or require. 

TO MILL A KEN, to robbe a house. 

TO NYGLE [coition]. 

TO NYP A BOUNG [nip, to steal], to cut a purse. 

TO SKOWER THE CRAMPRINGES, to weare boltes or 

fetters. 

TO STALL, to make or ordain. 

TO THE RUFFIAN, to the Devil. 

TO TOWRE, to see. 

TRYNING [trine], hanging. 

TYB OF THE BUTERY, & goose. 

WALKING MORTE, womene [who pass for widows]. 

WAPPING [coition], 

WHYDDES, wordes. 

WYN, a penny. 

YANNAM, bread. 

Turning our attention more to the Cant of 

modern times, in connection with the 

old, we find 

that words have been drawn into the thieves' 

vocabulary from every conceivable source. Hard 

or infrequent words, vulgarly termed crack-jaw, or 

jaw-breakers, were very often 

used and considered 

as cant terms. And here it should be mentioned 

that at the present day the most inconsistent and 

far-fetched terms are often used for secret purposes, 

when they are known to be caviare to the million.

WERE HIGHWAYMEN EDUCATED MEN? 27 

It is really laughable to know that such words as 

incongruous, insipid, interloper, intriguing, indecorum, 

forestal, equip, hush, grapple, &c. &c., were 

current Cant words a century and a half ago; 

but 

such was the case, as any one may see in the 

Dictionary of Canting Words, at the end of Bacchus 

and Venus,* 1737. They are inserted not as 

jokes or squibs, but as selections from the veritable 

pocket dictionaries of the Jack Sheppards and 

Dick Turpins of the day. If they were safely used 

as unknown and cabalistic terms amongst the 

commonalty, the fact would form a very curious 

illustration of the ignorance of our poor ancestors. 

One piece of information is conveyed to us, i.e., 

that the "Knights" or " Gentlemen of the road," 

using these polite words in 

those days of highwaymen, 

were really well educated men, — which 

heretofore has 

always been a hard point of beHef, 

notwithstanding old novels and operas. 

Amongst those Cant words which have either 

altered their meaning, or have become extinct, I 

may cite lady, formerly the Cant for "a very 

crooked, deformed, and ill-shapen woman ;"t and 

* This is a curious volume, and is worth from one to two 

guineas. The Canting Dictionary was afterwards reprinted, 

word for word, with the title of The Scoundrel's Dictionary, in 

1751. It was originally published, without date, about the year 

1710 by B. E., under the title of a Dictionary of the Canting 

Crew. 

t Bacchus and Venus, 1737.

28 VAGABONDS USED FOREIGN WOBDS AS CANT. 

HARMAN, " a pair of stocks, or a constable." 

The former is a pleasant piece of satire, whilst the 

latter indicates a sino;ular method of revenge. 

Harmax was the first author who specially wrote 

against English vagabonds, and for his trouble his 

name became synonymous with a pair of stocks, 

and a policeman of the olden time. 

Apart from the Gipsey element, we find that 

Cant abounds in terms from foreigfn lanofuages, 

and that it exhibits the 

growth of most recognised 

and completely formed tongues,—the 

words from foreign sources. 

gathering of 

In the reign of Ehzabeth 

and of King James I., several Dutch, Spanish, 

and Flemish words were introduced by soldiers 

who had served in the Low Countries, and sailors 

who had returned from the Spanish Main, who 

like " mine ancient Pistol" 

were fond of garnishing 

their speech Avith outlandish phrases. Many of 

these were soon picked up and adopted by vagabonds 

and tramps in their Cant language. The Anglo- 

Norman and the Anglo-Saxon, the Scotch, the 

French, the Italian, and even the classic languages 

of ancient Italy and Greece, have contributed 

to its list of words,—besides the various 

provincial dialects of England. Indeed, as Mayhew 

remarks, English Cant seems to be formed on 

the same basis as the Argot of the French, and 

the ItothSproBc of the Germans, — partly metaphorical, 

and partly by the introduction of such

THE LINGUA FRANCA, OR BASTARD ITALIAN. 29 

corrupted foreign terms as are likely to be unknown 

to the society amid which the Cant speakers 

exist. 

Argot is the London thieves' word for their 

secret language,—it is, of course, from the French, 

but that matters not so long as it is incomprehensible 

to the police and the mob. Booze, or bouse, 

I am reminded by a friendly correspondent, comes 

from the Dutch, buysen". Domine, a parson, is 

from the Latin ; 

filched from the Spanish. 

a woman and children, is 

and DON, a clever fellow, has been 

Donna and feeles, 

from the Lingua Franca, 

or bastax'd Italian, although it sounds like an odd 

mixture of Spanish and French; 

whilst DUDDS, the 

vulgar term for clothes, may have been pilfered 

either from the Gaelic or the Dutch. Feele, a 

daughter, from the French; and EROW, a girl or 

wife, from the German— are common tramps' terms. 

So are gent, silver, from the French, Jrgent 

and VIAL, a country town, also from the French. 

Horrid-horn, a fool, is believed to be from the 

Erse; and GLOAK, a man, from the Scotch. As 

stated before, the Dictionary will supply numerous 

other instances. 

Tliere is one source, however, of secret street 

terms, which, in the first edition of this work, was 

entirely overlooked,—indeed, it was unknown to 

the editor until pointed out by a friendly correspondent,—the 

Lingua Franca, or 

bastard Italian, 

spoken at Genoa, Trieste, Malta, Constantinople,

30 CANT DERIVED FROM JEWS AND SHOA\ÊN, 

Smyrna, Alexandria, and all INIediterranean seaport 

towns. The ingredients of this imported Cant 

are many. Its foundation is Italian, with a mixture 

of modern Greek, German (from the Austrian ports), 

Spanish, Turkish, and French. It has been introduced 

to the notice of the London wandering tribes 

by the sailors, foreign and English, who trade to 

and from the Mediterranean seaports, by the 

swarms of organ players from all parts of Italy, 

and by the makers of images from Rome and 

Florence,—all of whom, in dense thoroughfares, 

mingle with our lower orders. It would occupy 

too much space here to give a list of these words. 

They are all noted in the Dictionary. 

" There are several Hebrew terms in our Cant 

language, obtained, it would appear, from the 

intercourse of the thieves with the Jew fences 

(receivers of stolen goods) ; many of the Cant 

terms, again, are Sanscrit, got from the Gipseys; 

many Latin, got by the beggars from the Catholic 

prayers 

before the Reformation; and many, again, 

Italian, got from the wandering musicians and 

others; 

indeed the showmen have but lately introduced 

a number of Italian phrases into their Cant 

languajye."* O 

The Hindostanee also contributes 

CD 

several words, and these have been introduced by 

the Lascar sailors, who come over here in the East 

* Mayhew's London Labour and London Poor, toI. iii., 

No. 43, Oct. 4th, 1851.

OLD ENGLISH WORDS USED AS CANT. 3) 

Indiamen, and lodge during their stay in the low 

tramps' lodging houses at the East end of London. 

Speaking of the learned tongues, I may mention 

that, precarious and abandoned as the vagabond's 

existence is, many persons of classical or refined 

education have from time to 

time joined the ranks, 

—occasionally from inclination, as in the popular 

instance of Bamfylde Moore Carew, but 

generally 

through indiscretion, and loss of character* This 

will in some measure account for numerous classical 

and learned words figuring as Cant terms in the 

vulgar Dictionary. 

In the early part of the last century, when highwaymen 

were by all accounts so plentiful, a great 

many new words were added to the canting vocabulary, 

whilst several old terms fell into disuse. 

Cant, for instance, as applied to thieves' talk, was 

supplanted by the word flash. 

A singular feature, however, in vulgar language, 

is the retention and the revival of sterling old 

English words, long since laid up in ancient manuscripts, 

or the subject of dispute among learned 

antiquaries. Disraeli somewhere says, " the purest 

source of neology is in the revival of old words " 

" Words that wise Bacon or brave Rawleigh spake," 

* Mayliew (vol. i., p. 217), speaks of a low lodging-house, "in 

which there were at one time five university men, three surgeons, 

and several sorts of broken down clerks." But old Harnian's 

saying, that " a wylde Roge is he that is home a roge," will 

perhaps explain this seeming anomaly.

32 OLD ENGLISH WORDS NOT FASHIONABLE NOW. 

and Dr. Latham honours our subject by remarking 

that " the thieves of" London are the conservators 

of Anglo- Saxonisms." Mayhew, too, in his interesting 

work, London Labour and London Poor, 

admits that many Cant and Slang phrases are 

merely old 

English terms, which have become obsolete 

through the caprices of fashion." And the 

reader who looks into the Dictionary of the vagabonds' 

lingo, will 

see at a glance that these gentlemen 

were quite correct, and that we are compelled 

to acknowledge the singular truth that a great 

many old words, once respectable, and in the 

mouths of kings and fine ladies, are now only «o 

many signals for shrugs and shudders amongst 

exceedingly polite people. A Belgravian gentleman 

who had lost his watch or his pocket-handkerchief, 

would scarcely remark to his mamma that it had 

been boned—yet bone, in old times, meant to 

steal amongst high and low. And a young lady 

living in the precincts of dingy, but aristocratic 

May-Fair, although enraptured with a Jenny Lind 

or a Ristori, would hardly think of turning back in 

the box to inform papa that she, Ristori or Lind, 

" made no boxes of it " — yet the phrase was most 

respectable and well-to-do, before it met with a 

change of circumstances. " A CKACK article," 

however first-rate, would, as far as speech is concerned, 

have greatly displeased Dr. Johnson and 

Mr. Walker — 

yet both cback, in the sense of excel-

OCR OLD AUTHORS VERY VULGAR PERSONS. 33 

lent, and crack up, to boast or praise, were not 

considered vulgarisms in the time of Henry VIII. 

Dodge, a cunning trick, is from the Anglo-Saxon; 

and ancient nobles used to " get each other's 

DANDER UP " before appealing to their swords, 

quite FLABERGASTING (also a respectable old word) 

the half score of lookers-on with the thumps and 

cuts of their heavy weapons. GallAVANTING, 

waiting upon the ladies, was as polite in expression 

as in action; whilst a clergyman at 

Panic's Crosse, 

thought nothing of bidding a noisy hearer to " hold 

his GAB," or " shut up his GOB." Gadding, roaming 

about in an idle and trapesing manner, was 

used in an old translation of the Bible; and " to do 

anything gingerly " was to do it with great care. 

Persons of modern tastes will be shocked to know 

that the great Lord Bacon spoke of the lower part 

of a man's face as his GILLS. 

Shakespere, or as the French say, " the divine 

William," also used many words which are now 

" Clean gone," in 

counted as dreadfully vulgar. 

the sense of out of sight, or entirely away ; 

" you 

took me all A-mort," or confounded me ; 

"it won't 

FADGE," or suit, are phrases taken at random 

from the great dramatist's works. A London 

costermonger, or inhabitant of the streets, instead 

of saying '* I'll make him yield," or " give 

in," in a fight or contest, would say, " I'll make 

him BUCKLE under." Shakespere, in his Henry the 

I>

S4 

SHAKESPERE A PUGILIST? 

Fourth (Part 2, Acti., Scene 1) has the word, and 

Mr. HalHwell, one of the greatest and most industrious 

of living antiquaries, informs us, that " the 

commentators do not supply another example." 

How strange, then, that the Bard of Avon, and 

the Cockney costermongers, should be joint partners 

and sole proprietors of the vulgarism. If Shakespere 

was not a pugiHst, he certainly anticipated 

the terms of the prize ring—or 

they were respectable 

words before the prize ring was thought of 

for he has PAT, to beat or thrash, and pepper, 

with a similar meaning; also fancy, in the sense 

of pets and favourites, — 

pugilists are often termed 

the FANCY. The cant word PRIG, from the Saxon, 

priccan, to filch, is also Shakesperian ; so indeed 

is PIECE, a contemptuous term for a young woman. 

Shakespere was not the only vulgar dramatist of 

his time. Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, 

Brome, and other play-wiiters, occasionally put 

cant words into the mouths of their low characters, 

or employed old words which have since degenerated 

into vulgarisms. Crusty, poor tempered 

" two of a KIDNEY," two of a sort ; LARK, a piece 

of fun ; LUG, to pull ; BUNG, to give or pass ; 

PICKLE, a sad plight ; frump, to mock, are a few 

specimens casually 

picked from the works of the 

old histrionic writers. 

One old English mode of canting, simple and 

effective when familiarised by practice, was the

CURIOUS SYSTEMS OF CANT. 35 

inserting a consonant betwixt each syllable ; tbus, 

taking g, 

" How do you do ?" would be " Hou^ 

do^ you^ do^ ? The name very properly given to 

this disagreeable nonsense, we are informed by 

Grose, was Gibberish. 

Another Cant has recently been attempted by 

transposing the initial letters of words, so tliat a 

mutton chop becomes a cutton wop, a pint of stout 

a stint of pout ; but it is satisfactory to know that 

it has gained no ground. This is called Marrowskying, 

or Medical Greek, from its use by medical 

students at the hospitals. Albert Smith terms it 

the Gotver-street Dialect. 

The Language of Ziph, I may add, is another 

rude mode of disguising English, in use among 

the students at Winchester College. 

d2

ACCOUNT 

HIEROGLYPHICS USED BY VAGABONDS. 

One of the most singular chapters in a History of 

Vagabondism would certainly be an account of the 

Hieroglyphic signs used by tramps and thieves. 

The reader may be startled to know that, in addition 

to a secret language, the wandering tribes of 

this country have private marks and symbolic signs 

with which to score their successes, failures, and 

advice to succeeding beggars; in fact, that the 

country is really dotted over with beggars' finger 

posts and guide stones. The assertion, however 

strange it may appear, is no fiction. The subject 

was not long since brought under the attention of 

the Government by Mr. Rawlinson.* " There is," 

he says in his report, " a sort of blackguards' literature, 

and the initiated understand each other by 

* Mr. Rawlinson's Report to the General Board of Health, 

Parish of Mavant, Hampshire,

MENDICANT FREEMASONRY. 37 

slang [cant] terms, by pantomimic signs, and by 

HIEROGLYPHICS. The Vagrant's mark may be seen 

in Havant, on corners of streets, on door posts, and 

on house steps. 

Simple as these chalk lines appear, 

they inform the succeeding vagrants of all they 

require to know ; and a few white scratches may 

say, ' be importunate,' or 'pass on.^ " 

Another very curious 

account was taken from a 

provincial newspaper, published in 1849, and forwarded 

to Notes and Queries,^ under the head of 

Mendicant Freemasonry. " Persons," remarks 

the writer, " indiscreet enough to open their 

purses to the relief of the beggar tribe, would do 

well to take a readily learned lesson as to the folly 

of that misguided benevolence which encourages 

and perpetuates vagabondism. Every door or 

passage is pregnant with instruction as 

to the error 

committed by the patron of beggars, as the beggarmarks 

show that a system of freemasonry is followed, 

by which a 

beggar knows whether it will 

be worth his while to call into a passage or knock 

at a door. 

Let any one examine the entrances to 

the passages in any town, and there he will find 

chalk marks, 

unintelligible to him, but significant 

enough to beggars. If a thousand towns are 

examined, the 

same marks will be found at every 

passage entrance. The passage mark is a cypher 

with a twisted tail: in some cases the tail projects 

* Vol. v., p. 210.

side 

38 HIEROGLYPHICS OF VAGABONDS. 

into the passage, in others outwardly ; 

thus seeming 

to indicate whether the houses down the passage 

are worth calhng at or not. Almost every door 

has its marks: these are varied. In some cases 

there is a cross on the brick work, in others a 

cypher: the figures 1, 2, 3, are also used. Every 

person may for himself test the accuracy of these 

statements by the examination of the brick Avork 

near his own doorway—thus demonstrating that 

mendicity is a regular trade, carried out upon a 

system calculated to save time, and realise the 

largest profits." These remarks refer mainly to 

provincial towns, London being looked upon as the 

tramps' home, and therefore too fly, or experienced, 

to be duped by such means. 

The only other notice of the hieroglyphics of 

vagabonds that I have met with, is in Mayhcws 

London Labour and London Poor.* Mayhew 

obtained his information from two tramps, who 

stated that hawkers employ these signs as well aa 

beggars. One tramp thus described the method of 

WORKiNGf a small town. " Two hawkers (PALSf) 

go together, but separate when they enter a village, 

one taking one . 

of the road, and selling different 

things ; and so as to inform each other as to 

the character of the people at whose houses they 

call, they chalk certain marks on their door postsJ' 

Another informant stated that " if a PATTERERf 

* Vol. i., pages 218 and 247.] [t See Dictionary.

ACCOUNT OF A CADGER'S MAP. 39 

has been crabbed (that is, 

offended) at any of the 

CRIBS (houses), he mostly chalks a signal at or 

near the doorT 

Another use is also made of these hieroglyphics. 

Charts of successful begging neighbourhoods are 

rudely drawn, and symbolical signs attached to each 

house to show whether benevolent or adverse.* "In 

many cases there is over the kitchen mantel-piece" 

of a tramps' lodging-house 

" a map of the district^ 

dotted here and there with memorandums of failure 

or success. "f A correct facsimile of one of these 

singular maps has been placed as a frontispiece. It 

• Sometimes, as appears from the following, the names of 

persons and houses are written instead. "In almost everyone 

of the padding-kens, or low lodging-houses in the country, there 

is a list of walks pasted up over the kitchen mantel piece. 

Now 

at St. Albans, for instance, at the , and at other places, 

there is a paper stuck up in each of the kitchens. This paper 

is 

headed "Walks out op this Town," and underneath it is 

set down the names of the villages in the neighbourhood at 

which a beggar may call when out on his walk, and they are so 

arranged as to allow the cadger to make a round of about six 

miles each day, and return the same night. In many of these 

papers there are sometimes twenty walks set down. No villages 

that are in any way "gammy" [bad] are ever mentioned in these 

papers, and the cadger, if he feels inclined to stop for a few days 

in the town, will be told by the lodging-house keeper, or the 

other cadgers that he may meet there, what gentlemen's seats or 

private houses are of any account on the walk that he means to 

take. The names of the good houses are not set down in the 

paper for fear of the police." Mayhew, vol. i., p. 418. 

t Mayhew, vol. i., p. 218.

4d ACCOUNT OF A CADGER'S MAP. 

was obtained from the patterers and tramps who 

supplied a great many words for this work, and 

who have been employed by me for some time in 

collecting Old Ballads, Christmas Carols, Dying 

Speeches, and Last Lamentations, as materials for 

a History of Popular Literature. The reader wilt 

no doubt be amused with the drawing. The 

locality depicted is near Maidstone, in Kent, and I 

am informed that it was probably sketched by a wandering 

SCEEEVEE * in payment for a night's lodging. 

The English practice of marking everything, 

and scratching 

names on pubHc property, extends 

itself to the tribe of vagabonds. On the map, as 

may be seen in the left hand corner, some teavel- 

LER* has drawn a favourite or noted female, singularly 

nick-named Three-quarter Sarah. What 

were the peculiar accomplishments of this lady to 

demand so uncommon a name, the reader will be 

at a loss 

to discover, but a pattcrer says it probably 

refers to a shuffling dance of that name, common in 

tramps' lodging-houses, and in which " f Sarah " 

may have been a proficient. Above her, three 

beggars or hawkers have reckoned their day's 

earnings, amounting to 13s.; and on the right a 

tolerably correct sketch of a low hawker, or costermonger, 

is drawn. " To Dover, the nigh way," is 

the exact phraseology ; and " hup here," a fair 

specimen of the self-acquired education of the tribe 

* See Dictionary.

EXPLANATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS. 41 

of cadgers. No key or explanation to the hieroglyphics 

was given in the original, because it would 

have been superfluous, when every inmate of the 

lodging-house knew the marks from their cradle 

or rather their mother's back. 

Should there be no map, " in most lodginghouses 

there is an old man who is guide to every 

' 

avalk' in the vicinity, and who can tell each 

house on every round, that is good ' for a cold 

tatur.' "* The hieroglyphics that are used are: 

X NO GOOD ; too poor, and know too much. 

f\i STOP,—If you have what they want, they will buy. 

They are pretty "fly" (kuo\ving). 

•y^ GO IN THIS DIRECTION, it is better than the other 

road. Nothing tliat way. 

A BON£ (good). Safe for a " cold tatur," if for nothing 

" 

else. " Cheese your patter" (don't talk much) heie. 

"^ COOPER'D (spoilt), by too many tramps calling there. 

p-j C.iibrMF (unfavourable), likely to have you taken up. 

'•-' 

Mind the dog. 

o 

FLUMMUXED (dangerous), sure of a month in "quod" 

(prison). 

RELIGIOUS, but tidy on the whole. 

Where did these signs come from, and when 

were they first T;sed? are questions which I have 

asked 

myself again and again, whilst endeavouring 

to discover their history. Knowing the character 

of the Gipseys, 

and ascertaining from a tramp that 

they are well acquainted with the hieroglyphics, 

* Mayhew, vol. i., p. 218.

42 DID THE GIPSEYS INVENT THEM? 

" and have been as long ago as ever he could 

remember," I have little hesitation in ascribing the 

invention to them. And strange it would be if 

some modern Belzoni, or ChampoUion, discovered 

in these befj^ârs' marks fragments of ancient 

Egyptian or Hindoo hieroglyphical writing ! But 

this, of course, is a simple vagary of the imagination. 

That the Gipseys were in the habit of leaving 

memorials of the road they had taken, and the 

successes that had befallen them, there can be no 

doubt. In an old book. The Triumph of Wity 

1724, there is a passage which appears to have been 

copied from some older work, and it runs thus: 

" The Gipseys set out twice a year, and scatter all 

over England, each parcel having their appointed 

stages, that they may not interfere, nor hinder each 

other ; and for that purpose, when they set forward 

in the country, they stick up boughs in the icay of 

divers kinds, according/ as it is agreed among them, 

that one company may know which way another is 

gone, and so take a different road^ The works of 

Hoyland and Borrow supply other instances. 

I cannot close this subject without drawing 

attention to the extraordinary fact, that actually on 

the threshold of the gibbet the sign of the vagabond 

is to be met with " 

! The murderer's signal 

is even exhibited from the gallows; as a red handkerchief 

held in the hand of the felon about to be

THE MURDERER'S SIGNAL ON THE GALLOWS. 43 

executed is a token that he dies without having 

betrayed any professional secrets."* 

Since the first edition of this work was pubHshed 

the author has received from various parts of England 

numerous evidences of the still active use of 

beggars' marks, and mendicant hieroglyphics. One 

gentleman writes from Great Yarmouth to say that 

only a short time since, whilst residing in Norwich, 

he used frequently to see them on the houses and 

street corners. From another gentleman, a clergyman, 

I learn that he has so far made himself 

acquainted with the meanings of the signs employed, 

that by himself marking the characters 

a (Gammy) or Q {Flummuxed) on the gate posts 

of his parsonage, he enjoys a singular immunity 

from alms-seekers of all orders. 

* Mr. RawUnson's Report to the General Board of Health,— 

Parish of Mavant, Hampshire.

THE HISTOKY OF SLANG, 

OB THE 

VULGAR LANGUAGE OF FAST LIFE. 

Slang is the language of street humour, of fast, 

high, and low life. Cant, as was stated in the 

chapter upon that subject, is the vulgar language 

of secrecy. They are both universal and ancient, 

and appear to have been the peculiar concomitants 

of gay, vulgar, or worthless persons in every part 

of the world, at every period of time. Indeed, if 

we are to believe implicitly the saying of the wise 

man, that " there is nothing new under the sun," 

the " fast" men of buried Nineveh, with their 

knotty and door-matty looking beards, may have 

cracked Slang jokes on the steps of Sennacherib's 

palace ; and the stocks and stones of Ancient 

Egypt, and the bricks of venerable and used-up 

Babylon, may, for aught we know, be covered 

with Slang hieroglyphics unknown to modern antiquarians, 

and which have long been stumblingblocks 

to the philologist; so impossible is it at this

OLD ENGLISH SLANG. 45 

day to say what was then authorised, or what then 

vulgar language. Slang is as old as speech and 

the congregating together of people in cities. It 

is 

the result of crowding, and excitement, and arti- 

Even to the classics it was not unknown, 

ficial life. 

as witness the pages of Aristophanes and Plautus, 

Terence and Athenaeus. Martial, the epigrammatist, 

is full of Slang. When an uninvited guest 

accompanied his friend, the Slang of the day styled 

him his umbra; when a man was trussed, neck 

and heels, it called him jocosely quadrupus. 

Old English Slang was coarser, and depended 

more upon downright vulgarity than our modern 

Slang. 

It was a jesting speech, or humorous indulgence 

for the thoughtless moment, or the drunken 

hour, and it acted as a vent-peg for a fit of temper 

or irritability ; but it did not interlard and permeate 

every description of conversation as now. 

It was confined to nick-names and improper subjects, 

and encroached but to a very small extent 

upon the domain of authorised speech. Indeed, it 

was exceedingly limited when compared with the 

vast territory of Slang in such general favour and 

complete circulation at the present day. Still, 

although not an alarming encumbrance, as in our 

time. Slang certainly did exist in this country centuries 

ago, as we may see if we look down the page 

of any respectable History of England. 

Cromwell 

was familiarly called OLD noll,—^just the same

46 OLD ENOLTSH SLANG. 

as Buonaparte was termed boney, and Wellington 

CONKEY, or NOSEY, only a few years ago. His 

Legislature, too, was spoken of in a high-flavoured 

way as the bare bones, or eump ParUament, and 

his followers were nicknamed roundheads, and 

the peculiar 

religious sects of his protectorate were 

styled PURITANS and Quakers.* 

The Ci\Til War 

pamphlets, and the satirical hits of the Cavaliers and 

the Commonwealth men, originated numerous Slang 

words and vulgar similes, 

in full use at the present 

moment. Here is a field of inquiry for the Philological 

Society, indeed I may say a territory, for 

there are thirty thousand of these partisan tracts. 

Later still, in the court of Charles the Second, the 

naughty ladies and the gay lords, with Rochester 

at their head, talked Slang; and very naughty Slang 

it was too ! 

and ears" in debt, and in 

Fops, in those days, when " over head 

continual fear of arrest, 

termed their enemies, the bailiffs, PHiLiSTiNESf or 

MOAJBITES. At a later period, when collars were 

worn detached from shirts, in order to save the 

expense of washing—an object it would seem with 

needy " swells" in all ages—they obtained the name 

of JACOBITES. One half of the coarse wit in 

* This term, with a singular literal dowmightness, which 

would be remarkable in any other people than the French, is 

translated by them as the sect of Trembleurs. 

t Swift alludes to this term in his Art of Polite Conversation, 

p. 14. 1738.

SWIFT AND ARBUTHNOT FOND OF SLANG. 47 

Butler's Hudibras lurks in the vulgar words and 

phrases which he was so fond of employing. They 

•were more homely and forcible 

than the mild and 

elegant sentences of Cowley, and the people, 

therefore, liurrah'd them, and pronounced Butler 

one of themselves.— or, as we should say, in a 

joyful moment, a jolly good fellow. 

Orator Henley 

preaclied and prayed in Slang, and first charmed 

and then swayed the dirty mobs in Lincoln's Inn 

Fields by vulgarisms. Burly Grose mentions Henley, 

Avith the remark that we owe a great many 

Slang phrases to him. Swift, and old Sir Roger 

L'Estrange, and Arbuthnot, were all fond of vulgar 

or Slang language ; indeed, we may see from a Slang 

word used by the latter how curious is the gradual 

adoption of vulgar terms in our standard dictionaries. 

The worthy doctor, in order to annihilate 

(or, as we should say with a fitting respect to the 

subject under consideration, smash) an opponent, 

thought proper on an occasion to use the word 

CABBAGE, not in the ancient and esculentary sense 

of a flatulent vegetable of the kitchen garden, but 

in the at once Slang sense of purloining or cribbing. 

Johnson soon met with the word, looked at it, 

examined it, weighed it, and shook his head, but 

out of respect to a brother doctor inserted it in 

his dictionary, labelling it, however, prominently 

'* 

Cant f whilst Walker and Webster, years after, 

when to cabbage was to pilfer all over England,

48 THE KEAL SIMON PUKE. 

placed the term in their dictionaries as an ancient 

and very respectable word. 

Another Slang term, 

GULL, to cheat, or delude, sometimes varied to 

GULLY, is stated to be connected with the Dean of 

St. Patrick. Gull, a dupe, or a fool, is often used 

by our old dramatists, and is 

generally believed to 

have given rise to the verb; but a curious little 

edition of Bamfylde Moore Carew, published in 

1827, says that TO GULL, or gully, is derived 

from the well known Gulliver, the hero of the 

famous Travels. How crammed with Slang are the 

dramatic works of the last century ! The writers 

of the comedies and farces in those days must have 

lived in the streets, and written their plays in the 

public-houses, so filled are they with vulgarisms and 

unauthorised words. The popular phrases, " I owe 

you one," " that's one for his nob," and " keep 

moving, dad," arose in this way.* The second of 

these sayings was, doubtless, taken from the card 

table, for at cribbage the player who holds the 

knave of the suit turned up counts " one for his 

nob," and the dealer who turns up a knave counts 

" two for his heels." 

In Mrs. Centlivre's admirable comedy of A 

Bold Stroke for a Wife, we see the origin of that 

popular street phrase, THE real simon pure. 

Simon Pure is the Quaker name adopted by 

Colonel Feignwell as a trick to obtain the hand of 

* See Notes and Queries, vol. i., p. 185. 1850.

TOM BROWN AND NED WARD. 49 

Mistress Anne Lovely in marriage. The veritable 

Quaker, the " real Simon Pure," recommended by 

Aminadab Holdfast, of Bristol, as a fit sojourner 

with Obadiah Prim, arrives at last to the discomfiture 

of the Colonel, who, to maintain his position 

and gain time, concocts a letter in which the real 

Quaker is spoken of as a housebreaker who had 

travelled in the " leather conveniency " from 

Bristol, and adopted the garb and name of the 

Western Quaker in order to pass ofi* as the " real 

SIMON PURE," but only for the purpose of robbing 

the house and cutting the throat of the perplexed 

Obadiah. The scene in which the two 

Simon Pures, the real and the counterfeit, meet, 

is one of the best in the comedy. 

Tom Brown, of " facetious memory," as his 

friends were wont to say, and Ned Ward, who 

wrote humorous books, and when tired 

drew beer 

for his customers at his ale-house in Long Acre,* 

were both great producers of Slang in the last century, 

and to them we owe many popular current 

phrases and household words. 

Written Slang was checked rather than advanced 

by the pens of 

although John Bee, 

Addison, Johnson, and Goldsmith, 

the bottle-holder and historiographer 

of the pugilistic band of brothers in the 

youthful days of flat-nosed Tom Crib, has gravely 

• He afterwards kept a tavern at Wapping, mentioned by 

Pope in the Dunciad, 

£

50 WAS DR. JOHNSON WELL "UP" IN SLANG? 

stated that Johnson, when young and rakish, contributed 

to an early volume of the Gentleman's 

Magazine a few pages, by way of specimen, of a 

Slang dictionary, the result, Mr. Bee says, " of his 

midnight ramblings!"* And Goldsmith, I must 

not forget to remark, certainly coined a few words, 

although, as a rule, his pen was pure and graceful, 

and adverse to neologisms. The word fudge, it has 

been stated, was first used by him in literary composition, 

although it originated with one Captain 

Fudge, a notorious fibber, nearly a century before. 

Street-phrases, nick-names, and vulgar Avords were 

continually being added to the great stock of popular 

Slang up to the commencement of the present 

century, Avhen it received numerous additions from 

pugilism, horse-racing, and "fast" life generally, 

which suddenly came into great public favour, and 

was at its height when the Prince Regent was in 

his rakish minority. Slang in those days was generally 

termed flash language. So popular was it 

with the " bloods " of high life that it constituted the 

best paying literary capital for certain authors and 

dramatists. Pierce Egan issued Boxiana, and Life 

in London, six portly octavo volumes, crammed 

with Slang ; and Moncriefi* wrote the most popular 

farce of the day, Tom and Jerry (adapted from the 

latter work), which, to use newspaper Slang, " took 

• Sportsman's Dictionary, 1825, p. 15. I have seaiched the 

venerable magaziue in vain for this Slang glossary.

WHERE DID THE WORD " SLANG " '? 

GOME FROM 51 

the town by storm," and, with its then fashionable 

vulgarisms, made the fortune of the old Adelphi 

Theatre, and was, without exception, the most 

wonderful instance of a continuous theatrical RUN 

in ancient or modern times. This, also, was brimful 

of Slang. Other authors helped to popularise 

and extend Slang down to 

our own time, when it 

has taken a somewhat different turn, dropping 

many of the Cant and old vulgar words, and 

assuming a certain quaint and fashionable phraseology—Frenchy, 

familiar, utilitarian, and jovial. 

There can be no doubt but that common speech is 

greatly influenced by fashion, fresh manners, and 

that general change of ideas which steals over a 

people once in a generation. But before I proceed 

further into the region of Slang, it will be well to 

say something on the etymology of the word. 

The word Slang is only mentioned by two 

lexicographers—Webster and Ogilvie. Johnson, 

Walker, and the older compilers of dictionaries, 

give s/ang the preterite of sUng, but not a word 

about Slang in the sense of low, vulgar, or unrecognised 

language. The origin of the word has 

often been asked for in literary journals and books, 

but only one man, as far as I can learn, has ever 

hazarded an etymology—Jonathan Bee, the vulgar 

chronicler of the prize-ring.* With a recklessness 

peculhir to pugihsm. Bee stated that Slang was 

• latroduction to Bee's Spoi'lsmans Dictionary, 1825.

02 CORRECT ETYMOLOGY OF SLANG, 

derived from "the slants or fetters worn by prisoners, 

having acquired that name from the manner 

in which they were worn, as they required a sling 

of string to keep them off the ground." Bee had 

just been nettled at Pierce Egan producing a new 

edition of Grose s Dictionary of the 

Vulgar Tongue, 

and was determined to excel him in a vulgar dictionary 

of his own, which should be more racy, 

more pugilistic, and more original. How far he 

succeeded in this latter particular his ridiculous 

etymology of Slang will show. Slang is not an 

English word, it is the Gipsey term for their secret 

language, and its synonyme is gibberish—another 

word which was believed to have had no distinct 

origin.* Grose— stout and burly Captain Grose 

—who we may characterise as the greatest antiquary, 

joker, and drinker of porter of his day, 

was the first author who put the word Slang into 

print. 

Iliôccurs in his Classical Dictionary of the 

Vulgar Tongue, of 1785, with the signification that 

it implies "Cant or vulgar language." Grose, I 

* The Gipseys use tlie word Slang as the Anglican synonyme 

for Romany, the continental (or rather Spanish) term for the 

Cingari or Gipsey tongue. 

Crahb, who wrote the Gipsies' Advocate 

in 1831, thus mentions the word :— " This language [Gipsey] 

called by themselves Slang, or Gibberish, invented, as they think, 

by their forefathers for secret purposes, is not merely the language 

of one or a few of these wandering tribes, which are found in 

the European nations, but is adopted by the vast numbers who 

inhabit the earth."

SLANG USED BY ALL CLASSES, HIGH AND LOW. 53 

may remark in passing, Avas a great favourite with 

the poet Burns, and so pleased by his extensive 

powers of story-telling and grog-imbibing, that the 

companionable and humour-loving Scotch bard 

wrote for his fat friend—or, to use his own words, 

*' 

the fine, fat, fodgel wight — " the immortal poem 

of " Tarn O'Shanter." 

Without troublinoj the reader with a lonfj account 

of the transformation .into an English term of the 

word Slang, I may remark in passing tliat it is 

easily seen how we obtained it from the Gipseys. 

Hucksters and beggars on tramp, or at fairs and 

races, associate and frequently join in any rough 

enterprise with the Gipseys. The word would be 

continually heard by them, and would in this 

manner soon become Cant;* and, when carried by 

" fast " or vulgar fashionables from the society of 

thieves and low characters to their own drawingrooms, 

would as quickly become Slang, and the representative 

term for all vulgar or Slang language. 

Any sudden excitement, peculiar circumstance, 

or popular literary production, is quite sufficient to 

originate and set going a score of Slang words. 

Nearly every election or public agitation tlirows out 

offshoots of the excitement, or scintillations of the 

• The word Slang assumed various meanings amongst costermongers, 

beggars, and vagabonds of all orders. It was, and is 

still, 

used to express cheating by false weights, a raree show, for 

retiring by a back door, for a wateh-cbaiu, and for their secret

54 SLANG UNIVERSAL. 

humour in the shape of Slang terms—vulgar at 

first, but at length adopted as semi-respectable 

from the force of habit and custom. There is 

scarcely a condition or calling in life that does not 

possess its own peculiar Slang. The professions, 

legal and medical, have each familiar and unauthorised 

terms for peculiar circumstances and things, 

and I am quite certain that the clerical calling, or 

" the cloth,^' is not entirely free from this peculiarity. 

Every workshop, warehouse, factory, and mill 

throughout the country has its Slang, and so have 

the public schools of Eton, Harrow, and Westminster, 

and the great Universities of Oxford and 

Cambridge. Sea Slang constitutes the principal 

charm of a sailor's " yarn," and our soldiers and 

ofl&cers have each their peculiar nicknames and 

terms for things and subjects proper and improper. 

A writer in Household Words (No. 183) has gone 

so far as to remark, that a person " shall not read 

one single parhamentary debate, as reported in a 

first-class newspaper, without meeting scores of 

Slang words ;" 

and " that from Mr. Speaker in his 

chair, to the Cabinet Ministers 

whispering behind 

it—from mover to seconder, from true blue Protectionist 

to extremest Radical—Mr. Barry's New 

House echoes and re-echoes with Slang." 

Really it 

seems as if our boasted Englisli tongue was a very 

paltry and ill-provided contrivance after all ; 

it be that we are the most vulgar of people ? 

or can

THE POOR FOREIGNER'S PERPLEXITY. 

QO 

The universality of Slang is extraordinary. 

Let 

any person for a short time narrowly examine the 

conversation of their dearest and nearest friends, 

aye, censor-like, even slice and analyse their own 

supposed correct 

talk, and they shall be amazed at 

the numerous unauthorised, and what we can only 

call vulgar, words they continually employ. It 

is not the number of new words that we are ever 

introducing that is so reprehensible, there is not so 

much harm in this practice (frequently termed in 

books "the license of expression") if neologisms 

are really required, but it is the continually encumbering 

of old words with fresh 

and strange meanings. 

Look at those simple and useful verbs, 

do, cut, go, and take, and see how they are 

hampered and overloaded, and then let us ask 

ourselves how it is that a French or German 

gentleman, be he ever so well educated, is continually 

blundering and floundering amongst our 

little words when trying to make himself understood 

in an ordinary conversation. He may have 

studied our language the required time, and have 

gone through the usual amount of ''grinding," and 

practised the common allotment of patience, but all 

to no purpose as far as accuracy is concerned. I 

am aware that most new words are generally regarded 

as Slang, although afterwards they may 

become useful and respectable additions to our 

standard dictionaries. Jabber and hoax were

56 LONG AND WINDY SLANG WORDS. 

Slang and Cant terms in Swift's time; so indeed 

were mob and sham.* Words directly from the 

Latin and Greek, and Carlyleisms, are allowed 

by an indulgent public to pass and take their 

places in books. Sound contributes many Slang 

words—a source that etymologists too frequently 

overlook. Nothing pleases an ignorant person 

more than a high-sounding term " full of fury.'* 

How melodious and drum-like are those vulgar 

coruscations rumbumptious, slantingdicular, 

SPLENDIFEROUS, RUMBUSTIOUS, and FERRICA- 

DOUZER. What a "pull" the sharp-nosed 

lodging-house keeper thinks she has over her 

victims if she can but hurl such testimonies of 

a liberal education at them when they are disputing 

her charges, and threatening to absquatulate 

! In the United States the vulgar-genteel 

even excel the poor " stuck-up" Cockneys in their 

formation of a native fashionable language. How 

charming to a refined ear are abskize, catawam- 

POUSLY, EXFLUNCTIFY, OBSCUTE, KESL08H, 

KESOUSE, KESWOLLOP, and KEWHOLLUX ! Vulgar 

words representing action and brisk movement 

* North, in his Examen, p. 574, says, " I may Dote that the 

rabble first changed their title, and were called the mob in the 

assemblies of this [Green Ribbon] club. It was their beast of 

burden, and called first mobile vulgus, but fell naturally into the 

contraction of one syllable, and ever since is become proper 

English." In the same work, jj. 231, the disgraceful origin of 

SHAM is given.

VULGAK CORRUPTIONS. 57 

often owe tlieir origin to sound. 

Mispronunciation, 

too, is another great source of vulgar or slang 

words—RAMSHACKLE, SHACKLY, NARY- ONE for 

neither, or neither one, ottomy for anatomy, 

RENCH for rinse, are specimens. The commonalty 

dislike frequently occurring words difficult of pronunciation, 

and so we have the 

street abridgments 

of BiMEBY for by and by, Caze for because, GIN 

for given, hankercher for handkerchief, RUMA- 

Tiz for rheumatism, backy for tobacco, and many 

others, not perhaps Slang, but certainly all vulgarisms. 

Archbishop Whately, in his interesting 

Remains of Bishop Copleston, has inserted a leaf 

from the Bishop's note-book on the popular corruption 

of names, mentioning among others kickshaws, 

as from the French, quelques chases 

beefeater, the lubberly guardian of royalty 

in a procession, and the supposed devourer of 

enormous beefsteaks, as 

of the French, hiiffetier ; 

and george and cannon, 

but a vulgar pronunciation 

the sign of a public-house, as nothing but a 

corruption (although so soon !) of the popular 

premier of the last generation, George Canning. 

Literature has its Slang terms ; and the desire on 

the part of writers to say funny and startling things 

in a novel and curious way (the late Household 

Words,*^ for instance), contributes many unauthorised 

words to the great stock of Slang. 

* It is rather singular that this popular journal should have 

contained a long article on Slang a short time ago.

58 FASHIONABLE SLANG. 

Fashionable, or Upper-class Slang, is of several 

varieties. There is the Belgravian, miUtary and 

naval, parliamentary, dandy, and the reunion and 

visiting Slang, Concerning the Slang of the 

fashionable world, a writer in Household Words 

curiously, but not altogether truthfully, remarks, 

that it is mostly imported from France; and that 

an unmeaning gibberish of Gallicisms runs through 

English fashionable conversation, and fashionable 

novels, and accounts of fashionable parties in the 

fashionable newspapers. Yet, ludicrously enough, 

immediately the fashionable magnates of England 

seize on any French idiom, the French themselves 

not only universally abandon it to us, but positively 

repudiate it altogether from their idiomatic 

vocabulary. If you were to tell a well-bred Frenchman 

that such and such an aristocratic marriage 

was on the tapis, he would stare with astonishment, 

and look down on the carpet in the startled endeavour 

to find a marriage in so unusual a place. If 

you were to talk to him of the beau monde, he 

would imagine you meant the world which God 

made, not half-a-dozen streets and squares between 

Hyde Park Corner and Chelsea Bun House. The 

the dansante* would be completely inexplicable to 

him. If you were to point out to him the Dow- 

* The writer is quite correct in instanciog this piece of 

fashionable twaddle. The mongrel formation is exceedingly 

amusing to a polite Parisian.

FASHIONABLE SLANG. 50 

ager Lady Grimguffin acting as chaperon to Lady 

Amanda Creamville, he would imagine you were 

referring to the petit Chaperon rouge — to little 

Red Riding Hood. He might just understand 

what was meant by vis-a-vis, entremets, and some 

others of the flying horde of frivolous little foreign 

slangisms hovering about fashionable cookery and 

fashionable furniture ; but three-fourths of them 

would seem to him as barbarous French provincialisms, 

or, at best, but as antiquated and obsolete 

expressions, picked out of the letters of Mademoiselle 

Scuderi, or the tales of Crebillon the 

'' younger." Servants, too, appropriate the scraps 

of French conversation which fall from their 

masters' guests at the dinner table, and forthwith in 

the world of flunkeydom the word " know " is 

disused, and the lady's maid, in doubt on a particular 

point, asks 

John whether or no he saveys 

it ?* What, too, can be more abominable than 

that heartless piece of fashionable newspaper Slang, 

regularly employed when speaking of the 

successful 

courtship of young people in the fashionable 

world : 

MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE. -We understand that a marriage 

is ARRANGED (!) betwixt the Lady, &;c. &c., and the 

Honourable, &c. &c. 

Arranged ! Is that cold-blooded Smithfield or 

Mark-lane term for a sale or a purchase the proper 

* Savez vous cela ?

60 PARLIAMENTARY SLANG. 

word to express the hopeful, joyous, golden union 

of young and trustful hearts? Which is the proper 

way to pronounce the names of great people, and 

what the correct authority ? Lord Cowper, we are 

often assured, is Lord Cooper—on this principle 

Lord Cowley would certainly be Lord Cooley— 

and Mr. Carew, we are told, should be Mr. Carey, 

Ponsonby should be Punsunby, Eyre should be 

Aire, Cholinondeley should be Chumley, St. John 

Sing en, Majoribanks Marshbanks, Derby Darby (its 

ancient 

be Poel. 

pronunciation), and Powell should always 

I don't know that these lofty persons have 

as much cause to complain of the illiberallty of fate 

in giving them disagreeable names as 

did the celebrated 

Psyche (as she was termed by Tom Moore), 

whose original name, through her husband, was 

Teayue, but which was afterwards altered to Tighe. 

Parliamentary Slang, excepting a few peculiar 

terms connected with " the House" (scarcely Slang, 

I suppose), is mainly composed of fashionable, 

literary, and learned Slang. When members, however, 

get excited and wish to be forcible, they are 

often not very particular which of the street terms 

they select, providing it carries, as good old Dr. 

South said, plenty of wild-fire in it. Sir Hugh 

Cairns very lately spoke of " that homely but 

expressive phrase, dodge." Out of " the House," 

several Slang terms are used in connection with 

Parliament or members of Parliament. If Lord

PARLIAMENTAKY SLANG. 61 

Palmerston is known by name to the tribes of the 

Caucasus and Asia Minor as a great foreign 

diplomatist, when the name of our Queen Victoria 

is an unknown title to the inhabitants of those 

parts—as was stated in the Times a short time 

ago,—I have only to remark that amongst the 

costers and the wild inhabitants of the streets he 

is better known as pam. I have often heard the 

cabmen on the " ranks " in Piccadilly remark of 

the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he 

has been going from his residence at Grosvenor 

Gate, to Derby House in St. James's Square,— 

" hollo, there ! de yer see old dizzy doing a 

stump?" A PLUMPER is a single vote at an election,—not 

a SPLIT-TICKET ; 

and electors who have 

occupied a house, no matter how small, and boiled a 

pot in it, thus qualifying themselves for voting, are 

termed pot-wollopers. A quiet walk over 

is a re-election without opposition and much cost. 

A CAUCUS meeting refers to the private assembling 

of politicians before an election, when candidates 

are chosen and measures of action agreed upon. 

The term comes from America. A job, in political 

phraseology, is a government office or contract 

obtained by secret influence or favouritism. 

Only 

the other day the Times spoke of " the patriotic 

member of Parliament potted out in a dusty 

little lodging somewhere about Bury-street." The 

term quockerwodger, although referring to a

62 MILITARY AND DANDY SLANG. 

wooden toy figure wliich jerks its limbs about 

when pulled by a string, has been supplemented 

with a political meaning. A pseudo-politician, 

one whose strings of action are pulled by somebody 

else, is now often termed a quockerwodger. The 

term rat, too, in allusion to rats deserting vessels 

about to sink, has long been employed towards 

those turncoat politicians who change their party 

for interest. Who that occasionally passes near the 

Houses of Parliament has not often noticed stout 

or careful M.P.s walk briskly through the Hall 

and on the curb-stone in front, with umbrella or 

walking cane uplifted, shout to the cabmen on the 

rank, four-wheeler ! The term is a useful one, 

but I am afraid we miist consider it 

is 

Slang, until it 

stamped with the mint mark of lexicographical 

authority.* 

Military, or Officers' Slang is 

character with Dandy Slang. 

on a par, and of a 

Inconvenient friends, 

or elderly and lecturing relatives, are pronounced 

dreadful bores. Four-wheel cabs are called 

BOUNDERS; and a member of the Four-in-hand 

* From an early period politics and partyiam have attracted 

unto themselves quaint Slang terms. 

Horace Walpole quotes a 

party nickuame of February, 1742, as a Slang word of the day 

: 

" The Tories declare against any further prosecution, if Tories 

there are, for now one hears of nothing but the broad-bottom; 

it is the reigning Cant word, and means the taking all parties 

and people, indifferently, into the ministry." Thus broadbottom 

in those days was !;Iang for coalition.

MILITARY AND DANDY SLANG. 63 

Club, driving to Epsom on tlie Derby day, would, 

xisiug fashionable slang phraseology, speak of it 

TOOLING HIS DRAG DOWN TO THE DEKBY. 

vehicle, if not a drag (or dwag) is a trap, or 

a CASK; and if the TURN OUT happens to be in 

other than a trim condition, it is pronounced at 

once as not down the road. Your city swell 

would say it is not UP TO the mark; whilst 

the costermonger would call it wery DICKEY. In 

the army a barrack 

as 

A 

or military station is known as 

a LOBSTER-BOX; to "cram" for an examination 

is to MUG-UP; to reject from the examination is to 

SPIN; and that part of the barrack occupied by 

subalterns is frequently spoken of as the rookery. 

In dandy or 

swell Slang, any celebrity, from Robson 

of the Olympic, to the Pope of Rome, is a 

SWELL. Wrinkled faced old professors, who hold 

dress and fashionable tailors in abhorrence, are 

called AAVFUL SWELLS,—if they happen to be very 

learned or clever. I may remark that in this upper 

class Slang a title is termed a handle; trousers, 

INEXPRESSIBLES; or when of a large pattern, or 

the inflated Zouave cut, howling bags ; a 

superior appearance, extensive; a four-wheeled 

cab, a BIRDCAGE; a dance, a HOP; dining at 

another man's table, " sitting under his MA- 

HOGANY;" anything flashy or showy, LOUD; the 

peculiar make or cut of a coat, its BUILD; full 

dress, full-fig ; 

wearing clothes which represent

64 DNIVERSITY SLANG. 

the very extreme of fashion, 

" dressing to DEATH;" 

a reunion, a spread; a friend (or a " good fellow"), 

a TRUMP; a difficulty, a screw LOOSE; and everything 

that is unpleasant, " from bad sherry to a 

writ from a tailor," jeuced infernal. The 

military phrase, " to send a man to Coventry," 

or permit no person to speak to him, although an 

ancient saying, must still be considered Slang. 

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and 

the great public schools, are the hotbeds of fashionable 

Slang. 

Growing boys and high-spirited young 

fellows detest restraint of all kinds, and prefer 

making a dash at life in a Slang phraseology of 

their own, to all the set forms and syntactical rules 

of Alma Mater. Many of the most expressive 

words in a common chit-chat, or free-and-easy conversation, 

are old University vulgarisms. Cut, in 

the sense of dropping an acquaintance, was originally 

a Cambridge form of speech; and nOAX, to 

deceive or ridicule, we are informed by Grose, was 

many years since an Oxford term. Among the 

words that fast society has borrowed from our great 

scholastic [I was going to say establishments, but I 

remembered the linen drapers' horrid and habitual 

use 

of the word] institutions, I find crib, a house 

or apartments; dead-men, empty wine bottles; 

DRAWING teeth,* wrenching off knockers ; 

* This is more especially an amusement with medical students, 

and is comparatively unknown out of London.

UNIVERSITY SLANG. 65 

FIZZING, first-rate, or splendid; governor, or 

RELIEVING OEFICER, the general term for a male 

parent; PLUCKED, defeated or turned back ; 

QUIZ, 

to scrutinise, or a prying old fellow ; and ROW, a 

noisy disturbance. The Slang words in use at Oxford 

and Cambridge would alone fill a volume. As 

examples I may instance SCOUT, which at Oxford 

refers to an undergraduate's valet, whilst the same 

menial at Cambridge is termed a GYP, — 

popularly 

derived by tlie Cantabs from the Greek, GYPS 

{yvxp), a vulture; scull, the head, or master of a 

college; battles, the Oxford term for rations, 

changed at Cambridge into commons. The term 

DICKEY, a half shirt, I am told, originated with the 

students of Trinity College, Dublin, who at first 

styled it a tommy, from the Greek, rojurj, a section. 

Crib, a literal translation, is now universal 

GRIND refers to a walk, or *' constitutional ;" 

HIVITE is a student of St. Begh's (St. Bee's) College, 

Cumberland; to japan, in this Slang speech, is 

to ordain ; MORTAR-BOARD is a square college cap 

SIM a student of a Methodistical turn,—in allusion 

to the Rev. Charles Simeon; sloggers, at Cambridge, 

refers to the second division of race boats, 

known at Oxford as TORPIDS; SPORT is to show 

or exhibit ; trotter is the jocose term for a tailor's 

man who goes round for orders; and tufts are 

wealthy students who dine with the DONS, and are 

distinguished by golden tvfisy or tassels, in their

66 RELIGIOUS SLANG. 

caps. There are many terms in use at Oxford not 

known at Cambridge ; and such Slang names as 

COACH, GULF, HARRY-SOPH, POKER, or POST- 

MORTEM, common enough at Cambridge, are seldom 

or never heard at the great sister University. For 

numerous other examples of college Slang, the 

reader is referred to the Dictionary. 

Religious Slang, strange as the compound may 

appear, exists with other descriptions of vulgar 

speech at the present day. Punch, a short time 

since, in one of those half-humorous, half-serious 

articles in which he is so fond of lecturing any 

national abuse or popular folly, remarked that 

Slang had " long since penetrated into the Forum, 

and now we meet it in the Senate, and even the 

Pulpit itself is no longer free from its intrusion.^^ 

I would not, for one moment, wish to infer that the 

practice is general. On the contrary, and in justice 

to the clergy, it must be said that the principal 

disseminators of pure English throughout the 

country are the ministers of our Established 

Church. 

Yet it cannot be denied but that a great 

deal of Slang phraseology and disagreeable vulgarism 

have gradually crept into the very pulpits 

which should give forth as pure speech as doctrine. 

Dean Conybeare, in his able Essay on Church 

Parties,* has noticed this wretched additionto our 

pulpit speech. As stated in his Essay, the practice 

* Edinburgh Review, October, 1853.

'religious slang. 67 

appears to confine itself mainly to the exaggerated 

forms of the High and Low Church— the Tractarians 

and the " Recordites."* By way of illustration, 

the Dean cites the evening parties, or social 

meetings, common amongst the wealthier lay members 

of the Recordite (exaggerated Evangelical) 

Churches, where the principal topics discussed—one 

or more favourite clergymen being present in a 

quasi-ofEcial manner— are " the merits and demerits 

of different 

preachers, the approaching restoration 

of the Jews, the date of the Millennium, the progress 

of the Tractarian ' 

heresy,' and the anticipated 

* perversion ' of High Church neighbours." These 

subjects are canvassed in a dialect differing considerably 

from common English. The words faithful, 

TAINTED, ACCEPTABLE, DECIDED, LEGAL, and 

many others, are used in a technical sense. We hear 

that Mr. A. has been more owned than Mr. B ; and 

that Mr. C. has more SEALSf than Mr. D. 

Again, 

the word GRACIOUS is invested with a meaning as 

extensive as that attached by young ladies to nice. 

Thus, we hear of a "gracious sermon," a 

" gracious meeting," a " gracious child, and 

even a " gracious whipping." The word dark 

* A term derived from the Record Newspaper, the exponent 

of this singular section of the Low, or so called Evangelical 

Church. 

+ A preacher ia said, in this phraseology, to be ovraED, when 

be makes many converts, and his converts are called Lis seals. 

f2

68 RELIGIOUS SLANG. 

has also a new and peculiar usage. 

It is applied to 

every person, book, or place, not impregnated with 

Recordite principles. 

We once were witnesses of a 

ludicrous misunderstanding resulting from this phraseology. 

" What did you mean (said A. to B.) by 

telling me that was such a very dark village ? 

I rode over there to 

day, and found the street particularly 

broad and cheerful, and there is not a tree 

in the place." 

" The Gospel is notpreached there^'' 

was B.'s laconic reply. The conclusion of one of 

these singular evening parties is generally marked 

by an " exposition 

"—an unseasonable sermon of 

nearly one hour's duration, circumscribed by no text, 

and deHvered from the table by one of the clerical 

visitors with a view to "improve the occasion." 

In the same Essay, the religious Slang terms for the 

two great divisions of the EstabHshed Church, receive 

some explanation. The old-fashioned High 

Church party, rich and " stagnant," noted for its 

"sluggish mediocrity, hatred of zeal, dread of innovation, 

abuse of dissent, blundering and languid 

Titterance," is called the HIGH AND DRY; whilst 

the corresponding division, known as the Low 

Church, equally stagnant with the former, but poorer, 

and more lazily inclined (from absence of education), 

to dissent, receives the nickname of the low and 

SLOW. Already have these terras become so familiar 

that they are shortened, in ordinary conversation, to 

the DRY and the SLOW. The so-called " Broad

RELIGIOUS SLAKG. 69 

Clnirch/' I should remark, is often spoken of as the 

BROAD AND SHALLOW. 

What can be more objectionable than the irreverent 

and offensive manner in which many of the 

dissenting ministers continually pronounce the 

names of the Deity, God and Lord. 

God, instead 

of pronouncing in the plain and beautifully simple 

old English way, G-o-D, they drawl out into 

GORDE or GAUDE ; and Lord, instead of speaking 

in the proper way, they desecrate into LOARD or 

LOERD,— lingering on the zi, or the r, as the case may 

be, until an honest hearer feels disgusted, and almost 

inclined to run the gauntlet of beadles and deacons, 

and pull the vulgar preacher from his pulpit. I 

have observed that many young preachers strive hard 

to acquire this 

peculiar pronunciation, in imitation 

of the older ministers. What can more properly, 

then, be called Slang, or, indeed, the most objectionable 

of Slang, than this studious endeavour to 

pronounce the most sacred names in a uniformly 

vulgar and unbecoming manner. If the oldfashioned 

preacher whistled Cant through his nose, 

the modern vulgar reverend whines Slang from the 

more natural organ. These vagaries of speech 

will, perhaps, by an apologist, be termed " pulpit 

peculiarities," and the writer dared to intermeddle 

with a subject that is or should be removed from 

his criticisms. The terms used by the mob towards 

the Church, however illiberal and satirically vulgar,

70 SLANG AMONGST THE LAWYERS. 

are within his province in such an inquiry as the 

present. A clergyman, in vulgar language, is 

spoken of as a choker, a cushion thumper, a 

DOMIXE, an EARWIG, a GOSPEL GRINDER, a GRAY 

COAT PARSON—if he is a lessee of the great tithes, 

ONE IN TEN, PADRE—if spoken of by an Anglo- 

Indian, a ROOK, a SPOUTER, a W^HITE CHOKER, 

or a WARMING PAN RECTOR, if he only holds the 

living pro tempore^ or is simply keeping the place 

warm for his successor. If a Tractarian, liis outer 

garment is rudely spoken of as a pygostole, or 

M.B. (mark of THE beast) COAT. His profession 

is termed the cloth, and his practice 

TUB thumping. Should he belong to the dissenting 

body, he is probably styled a pantiler, or a 

PSALM smiter, or, perhaps, a swaddler. His 

chapel, too, is spoken of as a SCHISM shop. A 

Roman CathoUc, I may remark, is coarsely named 

a brisket beater. 

Particular as lawyers generally are about the 

meaning of words, they have not prevented an unauthorised 

phraseology from arising, which we may 

term Legal Slang. So forcibly did this truth impress 

a late writer, that he wrote in a popular 

journal, " You may hear Slang every day in term 

from barristers in their robes, at every mess-table, 

at every bar-mess, at every college commons, and in 

every club dining-room." Swift, in Ms Art of 

polite Conversation (p. 15), published a century and

LITERARY SLANG. 71 

a half ago, states that VARDI was the Slang in his 

time for " verdict." A few of the most common 

and well-known 

terms used out of doors, with reference 

to legal matters, are COOK, to hash or 

make iip a balance-sheet ; DIPPED, mortgaged ; DUN, 

to solicit payment; fullied, to be 

'•^ 

fully committed 

for trial;" land-shark, a sailor's definition 

of a lawyer ; limb of the law, a milder term for 

the same " professional ;" MONKEY with a long 

TAIL, a mortgage — phrase used in the 

well-known 

case for libel. Smith v. Jones; mouthpiece, the 

coster's term for his counsel ; 

" to go through the 

RING," to take advantage of the Insolvency Act; 

SMASH, to become bankrupt; snipe, an attorney 

with a long bill; 

and whitewashed, said of any 

debtor who has taken the benefit of the Insolvent 

Act. Lawyers, from their connection with the 

police courts, and transactions with persons in every 

grade of society, have ample opportunities 

for acquiring 

street Slang, which in cross-questioning and 

wrangling they frequently avail themselves of. 

It has been said there exists a Literary Slang, 

or " the Slang of Criticism—dramatic, artistic, and 

scientific. Such words as ' aesthetic,' ' transcendental,' 

the * harmonies,' the ' unities,' a ' myth :' 

such phrases as ' an exquisite morceau on the big 

drum,' a ' scholarlike renderino; of John the 

Baptist's great toe,' ' keeping harmony,' ' middle 

distance,' ' aerial perspective,' ' delicate hand-

72 "PUNCH" ON SLANG AND SANSCRIT. 

ling,' ' nervous cliiaroscuro,' and the like." More 

than one literary journal that I could name 

are fond of employing such terms in their art 

criticisms, but it is questionable, after all, whether 

they are not allowable as the generous inflections 

and bendings of a bountiful language, for the 

purpose of expressing fresh phases of thought, and 

ideas not yet provided with representative words.* 

The well-known and ever-acceptable Punch, with 

his fresh and choice little pictorial bits by Leech, 

often employs a Slang term to give point to a joke, 

or humour to a line of satire. A short time since 

('4th May, 1859) he gave an original etymology of 

the school-boy-ism slog. Slog, said the classical 

and studious Punch, is derived from the Greek 

word SLOGO, to baste, to wallop, to slaughter. And 

it was not long ago that he amused his readers with 

two columns on Slang and Sanscrit — 

" The allegory which pervades the conversation of all Eastern 

nations," remarked the philosophical Punch, " is the foimdation 

of Western Slang ; and the increased number of students of the 

Oriental languages, especially since Sanscrit and Arabic have 

been made subjects for the Indian Civil Service Examinations, 

may have contributed to supply the English language with a 

* " All our newspapers contain more or less colloquial words ; 

in fact, there seems no other way of expressing certain ideas 

connected with passing events of every-day life, with the requisite 

force and piquancy. In the English newspapers the same 

thing is observable, and certain of them contain more of the 

class denominated Slang words than our own." Bartletfs 

Americanisms, p. x., 1859.

LITERARY SLANG. 73 

large portion of its Dew dialect. While, however, tlie spirit of 

allegory comes from the East, there is so great a difference between 

the brevity of Western expression and the more cumbrous 

diction of the Oriental, that the origin of a phrase becomes 

difficult to trace. Thus, for instance, whilst the Turkish merchant 

might address his friend somewhat as follows— 'That 

which seems good to my father is to his servant as the perfumed 

breath of the west wind in the calm night of the Arabian 

summer;' the Western negociator observes more briefly, 'all 

SERENE !' 

But the vulgar term, BRICK, Punch remarks in 

illustration, 

" must be allowed to be an exception, its Gre'ek derivation 

being universally admitted, corresponding so exactly as it does in 

its rectangular form and compactness to the perfection of manhood, 

according to the views of Plato and Simonides ; but any 

deviation from the simple expression, in which locality is indicated,— 

as, for instance, 'a genuine Bath,'—decidedly breathes 

the Oriental spirit." 

It is singular that what Punch says, unwittingly 

and in humour, respecting the Slang expression, 

BOSH, should be quite true. 

Bosh, remarks Punch, 

after speaking of it as belonging to the stock of 

words pilfered from the Turks, "is one whose innate 

force and beauty the slangographer is reluctantly 

compelled to admit. It is the only word 

which seems a proper appellation for a great deal 

which we are obliged to hear and to read every 

day of our life." BoSH, nonsense or stupidity, is 

derived from the Gipsey and the Persian. The 

universality of Slang, I may here remark, is proved

74 LITERARY SLANG. 

by its continual use in tlie pages of Punch. Whoever 

thinks, unless belonging 

to a past generation, 

of asking a friend to explain the stray vulgar words 

employed by the London Charivari ? 

The AthencBum, the most learned and censor-like 

of all the " weeklies," often induWs in a Slanfj 

word, when force 

of expression or a little humour 

is desired, or when the writer wishes to say something 

which is better said in Slang, or so-called 

vulgar speech, than in the authorised language of 

Dr. Johnson or Lindley Murray. It was but the 

other day that a writer in its pages employed an old 

and favourite word, used always when we were 

highly pleased with any article at school,— STUN- 

NING. 

Bartlett. the compiler of the Dictionary of 

Americanisms, continually cites the Athenaum as 

using Slang and vulgar expressions ;—but the 

magazine the American refers to is not the excellent 

literary journal which is so esteemed at the 

present day, it was a smaller, and now defunct 

" weekly." Many other highly respectable journals 

often use Slang words and phrases. 

The Times (or, 

in Slang, the thunderer) frequently employs unauthorised 

terms; and, following a " leader"* of the 

purest and most eloquent English composition, may 

sometimes be seen another "article"* on a totally 

* The terms leader and article can scarcely be called Slang, 

yet it would be desirable to know upon what authority they 

were first employed in their present peculiar sense.

THEATRICAL SLANG. 75 

different subject, containing, perhaps, a score or 

more of exceedingly questionable words. 

Among 

the words and phrases which may be included under 

the head of Literary Slang are,—BALAAM, matter 

kept constantly in type about monstrous productions 

of nature, to fill up spaces in newspapers 

BALAAM BOX, the term given in Blackwood to the 

depository for rejected articles; 

and slate, to pelt 

with abuse, or cut up in a review. The Slang 

names given to newspapers are 

curious;— thus, the 

Morning Advertiser is known as the tap-tub, the 

TiZER, and the GIN and gospel gazette. The 

Morning Posthas obtained the suggestive soubriquet 

of JEAMES; whilst the Morning Herald has long 

been caricatured as MRS. HARRIS, and the Standard 

as MRS. GAMP.* 

The Stage, of course, has its Slang— " both before 

and behind the curtain," as a journalist remarks. 

The stage manager is familiarly termed daddy; 

and an actor by profession, or a " professional," is 

called a PRO. A man who is occasionally hired at 

a trifling remuneration to come upon the stage as 

one of a crowd, or when a number of actors are 

wanted to give effect, is named a SUP,—an abbreviation 

of " supernumerary." A SURF is a thirdrate 

actor who frequently pursues 

another calling; 

* For some account of the origin of these nicknames see unrler 

Mrs. Harris in the Dictionary.

T6 

SLANG ON THE STAGE, 

and the band, or orchestra between the pit and the 

stage, is generally spoken of as the menagery. 

BEN is a benefit; and SAL is the Slang abbreviation 

of " salary." Should no wages be forthcoming 

on the Saturday night, it is said that the GHOST 

doesn't walk. The travelling or provincial theatricals, 

who perform in any large room that can 

be rented in a country village, are called barn 

STORMERS. A LENGTH is forty -two lines of any 

dramatic composition; and a run is the good or 

bad success of a performance. A saddle is the 

additional charge made by a manager to an actor 

or actress upon their benefit night. To MUG UP is 

to paint one's face, or arrange the person to represent 

a particular character; 

A 

to CORPSE, or to STICK, 

is to balk, or put the other actors out in their parts 

by forgetting yours. A performance is spoken of 

as either a GOOSER or a screamer, should it be a 

failure or a great success;—if the latter, it is not 

infrequently termed a HIT. To star it is to perform 

as the centre of attraction, with none but 

subordinates and indifferent actors in the same 

performance. The expressive term clap-trap, 

high-sounding nonsense, is 

nothing but an ancient 

theatrical term, and signified a trap to catch a 

clap by way of applause. "Up amongst the 

GODS," refers to being among the spectators in the 

gallery,—termed in French Slang paradis. 

There exists, too, in the great territory of vulgar

CIVIC SLANG. 77 

speech wliat may not inappropriately he termed 

Civic Slang. It consists of mercantile and Stock 

Exchange terms, and the Slang of good living and 

wealth. A turkey hung with sausages is facetiously 

styled AN ALDERMAN IN CHAINS; and a halfcrown, 

perhaps from its rotundity, is often termed 

an ALDERMAN. A BEAR is a speculator on the 

Exchange; and a BULL, although of another order, 

follows a like profession. 

There is something very 

humorous and applicable in the slang term LAME 

DUCK, a defaulter in stock-jobbing speculations. 

The allusion to his " waddling out of the Alley," 

as they say, is excellent. Breaking shins, in 

City slang, is borrowing money; a rotten or unsound 

scheme is spoken of as nSHY; " riggino 

the market" means playing tricks with it; and 

STAG was a common term during the railway mania 

for a speculator without capital, a seller of " scrip" 

in " Diddlesex Junction " and other equally safe 

lines. In Lombard-street a MONKEY is £500, a 

PLUM £100,000, and a marygold is one miUion 

sterling. But before I proceed further in a sketch 

of the different kinds of Slang, I cannot do better 

than to speak here of the extraordinary number 

of Cant and Slang terms in use to represent money, 

—from farthings to bank notes the value of fortunes. 

Her Majesty s coin, collectively or in the 

2)iece, is insulted hy no less than one hundred and 

thirty distinct Slang words, from the humble

78 SLANG TERMS FOR MONEY. 

BROWN (a halfpenny) to flimsies, or LONG- 

TAILED ONES (bank notes). 

" Money," it has been well remarked, " the bare, 

simple word itself, has a sonorous, significant ring 

in its sound," and might have sufficed, one would 

have imagined, for all ordinary purposes. But a 

vulgar or "fast" society has thought differently, 

and so we have the Slang synonymes beans, 

BLUNT, (i.e., specie,—not .stiff ov rags, bank notes), 

beads, brass, bustle, coppers (copper money, 

or mixed pence), chink, chinkers, chips, corks, 

dibbs, dinarly, dimmock, dust, feathers, 

gent (silver,—from argent), haddock (a purse of 

money), horse nails, loaver, lour (the oldest 

Cant term for money), mopusses, needful, nob- 

BINGS (money collected in a hat by street performers), 

ochre (gold), pewter, palm oil, 

queen's pictures, quids, rags (bank notes), 

ready, or ready gilt, redge (gold), rhino, 

ROWDY, SHINERS (sovereigns), skin (a purse of 

money), STIFF (paper, or bill of acceptance), stuff, 

stumpy, tin (silver), wedge (silver), and yellow- 

BOYS (sovereigns); — just forty-two vulgar equivalents 

for the simple word money. So attentive is 

Slang speech to financial matters, that there are 

seven terms for bad, or "bogus" coin (as our 

friends, the Americans, call it): a case is a counterfeit 

five-shilling piece; 

half that 

half a case represents 

sum; grays are halfpence made double

SLAKG TERMS FOR MONEY. 

for gambling purposes; QUEER-SOFT Is counterfeit 

or lead coin ; schofel refers to coated or spurious 

coin ; sheen is bad money of any description ; and 

sinkers bears the same and not inappropriate 

meaning. 

Flying the kite, or obtaining money 

on bills and promissory notes, is a curious allusion 

and raising 

to children tossing about a paper kite; 

the wind is a well-known phrase for procuring 

money by immediate sale, pledging, or a forced 

loan. In winter or in summer any elderly gentleman 

who may have prospered in life is pronounced 

WARM; whilst an equivalent is immediately at hand 

in the phrase " his pockets are well lined." Each 

separate piece of money has its own Slang term, and 

often half a score of synonymes. To begin with 

that extremely humble coin, a farthing : first we 

have FADGE, then fiddler, then gig, and lastly 

QUARTEREEN. A halfpenny is a brown or a 

MADZA 8ALTEE (Cant), or a MAG, or a posh, or a 

RAP,—whence the popular phrase, " I don't care a 

rcj9." The useful and universal penny has for Slang 

equivalents a copper, a saltee (Cant), and a 

WINN. Two-pence is a deuce, and three-fence is 

either a thrums or a thrups. Four-pence, or a 

groat, may in vulgar speech be termed a bit, a 

flag, or a joey. 

Six-pence is well represented in 

street talk, and some of the Slangisms are very 

comical, for instance, bandy, bender, cripple, 

and downer; then we have fye-buck, half a

80 OLD SLANG TERMS FOR MONEY. 

HOG, KICK (thus " two and a kick," or 2s. 6d.), 

LORD OF THE MANOR, PIG, POT (the price of a 

pot of beer), SNiD, sprat, sow's baby, tanner, 

TESTER, Tizzr,—sixteen vulgar words to one coin. 

Seven-pence being an uncommon amount has only 

one Slang synonyme, setter. The same remark 

applies to eight-pence and nine-pence, the former 

being 

only represented by otter, and the latter 

by the Cant phrase, nobba-saltee. Ten-pence is 

DACHA-SALTEE, and elevBH-pence DACHA-ONE, 

both Cant expressions. One shilling boasts ten 

Slang equivalents ; thus we have beong, bob, 

breaky-leg, deaner, gen (either from argent, 

silver, or the back slang), hog, peg, stag, teviss, 

and twelver. Half-a-crown is known as an 

alderman, half a bull, half a tusheroon, 

and a madza CAROON; whilst a crown piece, or 

Jive shillings, may be called either a BULL, or a 

CAROON, or a CARTWHEEL, or a coachwheel, 

or a THICK-UN, or a tusheroon. The next advance 

in Slang money is ten shillings, or half-asovereign, 

which may be either pronounced as half 

a bean, half a couter, a madza poona, or 

HALF A QUID. A sovereign, or twenty shillings, is 

a BEAN, CANARY, COUTER, FOONT, GOLDFINCH, 

JAMES, POONA, QUID, a THICK-UN, Or a YELLOW- 

BOY. Guineas are nearly obsolete, yet the terms 

NEDS, and HALF NEDS, are still in use. Bank notes 

are flimsies, long-tailed ones, or soft. A

CLASSICAL ORIGIN OF SLANG TERMS FOR MONEY. 81 

FINUF is a five-pound note. 

One hundred pounds 

(or any other " round sum ") quietly handed over 

as payment for services performed is curiously 

termed "a cool hundred." Thus ends, with 

several omissions, this long list of Slang terms for 

the coins of the realm, which for copiousness, I 

will engage to say, is not equalled by any other 

vulgar or unauthorised language in Europe. 

The antiquity of many of these Slang names is 

remarkable. Winn was the vulgar term for a 

penny in the days of Queen Elizabeth; and tester, 

a sixpence (formerly a shilling), was the 

correct name in the days of Henry the Eighth. 

The reader, too, will have remarked the frequency 

of animals' names as Slang terms for 

money. Little, as a modern writer has remarked, 

do the persons using these phrases know of their 

remote and somewhat classical 

origin, which may, 

indeed, be traced to the period antecedent to that 

when monarchs monopolised the surface of coined 

money with their own image and superscriptions. 

They are identical with the very name of money 

among the early Romans, which was pecunia, from 

jiecus, a flock. The collections of coin dealers 

amply show that the figure of a hog was anciently 

placed on a small silver coin; and that that of a 

BULL decorated larger ones of the same metal. 

These coins were frequently deeply crossed on the 

reverse; this was for the convenience of easily 

G

82 SHOPKEEPERS' SLANG. 

breaking them into two or more pieces, should the 

bargain for which they were employed require it, 

and the parties making it had no smaller change 

handy to complete the transaction. Thus we find 

that the half bull of the itinerant street seller, or 

" traveller,"* so far from being a phrase of modern 

invention, as is generally supposed, is in point of 

fact referable to an era extremely remote. There 

are many other Cant words directly from a classic 

source, as will be seen in the Dictionary. 

Sliopkeepers Slang is, perhaps, the most offensive 

of all Slang. It is not a casual eyesore, as newspaper 

Slang, neither is it an occasional discomfort 

to the ear, as in the case of some vulgar byeword 

of the street; but it is a perpetual nuisance, and 

stares you in the face on tradesmen's invoices, on 

labels in the shop-windows, and placards on the 

hoardings, in posters against the house next to your 

own door— if it happens to be empty for a few 

weeks,—and in bills thrust into your hand, as you 

peaceably walk through the streets. Under your 

doors, and down your area, Slang hand-bills are 

dropped by some pushing tradesman, and for the 

thousandth time you are called upon to learn that 

an ALARMING SACRIFICE is taking place in the 

next street, that prices are down again, that in 

consequence of some other tradesman not driving 

a roaring trade, being in fact sold up, and for 

the time being a resident in burdon's hotel 

* See Dictionary.

SLANG IN THE WORKSHOP. 83 

(Whitecross-street Prison), the PUSHING tradesman 

wishes to sell out at awfully low prices, " to 

the kind patrons, and numerous customers," &c. &c., 

"that have on every occasion," &c. &c. In this 

Slang any occupation or calling is termed a LINE, 

thus the "Building-LINE." A tailor usurps to 

himself a good deal of Slang. Amongst operatives 

he is called a SNIP, or a STEEL bar driver ; by 

the world, a ninth part of a man ; and by the 

young collegian, or " fast " man, a SUFFERER. If 

he takes army contracts, it is SANK WORK; if he 

is a SLOP tailor, he is a springer up, and his 

garments are BLOWN TOGETHER. Perquisites with 

him are spiffs, and remnants of cloth, peaking. 

The percentage he allows to his assistants (or 

counter jumpers) on the sale of old-fashioned 

articles, is termed tinge. 

If he pays his workmen 

in goods, or gives them tickets upon other tradesmen, 

with whom he shares the profit, he is soon known 

as a tommy master. If his business succeeds, it 

takes ; if neglected, it becomes shaky, and goes 

TO POT ; if he is deceived by a creditor (a not by 

any means unusual circumstance) he is let in, or, 

as it is sometimes varied, taken in. I need 

scarcely remark that any credit he may give is 

termed tick. 

Operatives 

or Workmen's Slang, in quality, is but 

slightly removed from tradesmen's Slang. When 

belonging to the same shop or factory, they graft 

g2

84 SLANG IN THE WORKSHOP. 

there, and are brother chips. They generally 

dine at slap bang shops, and are often paid at 

TOMMY SHOPS. At the nearest pub, or publichouse, 

they generally have a SCORE chalked up 

against them, which has to be wiped off regularly 

on the Saturday night. When out of work, they 

borrow a word from the flunkey vocabulary, and 

describe themselves as being out op collar. 

They term each other PLINTS and DUNGS, if they 

are "society " or " non-society" men. 

Their salary 

is a screw, and to be discharged is to get the 

sack. When they quit work, they KNOCK off ; 

and when out of employ, they ask if any HANDS 

are wanted. Fat is the vulgar synonyme for 

perquisites; elbow-grease signifies labour; and 

SAINT MONDAY is the favourite day of the week. 

Names of animals figure plentifully in the workman's 

vocabulary ; thus we have GOOSE, a tailor's 

smoothing iron; SHEEp's-FOOT, an iron hammer; 

SOW, a receptacle for molten iron, whilst the metal 

poured from it is termed pig. I have often 

thought that many of the Slang terms for money 

originally came from the workshop, thus—BRADS, 

from the ironmonger; chips, from the carpenter; 

DUST, from the goldsmith; feathers, from the 

upholsterer; horse nails, from the farrier ; haddock, 

from the fishmonger; and tanner, from the 

leather-dresser. The subject is curious. Allow me 

to call the attention of numismatists to it.

SLANG APOLOGIES FOR OATHS. 85 

There yet remain several distinct divisions of 

Slang to be examined ;—the Slang of the stable, 

jockey Slang; the Slang of i\iQ prize ring ; the Slang 

o? servitude, orflunkeydom ; vulgar, or street Slang; 

the Slang of softened oaths; and the Slang of 

intoxication. I shall only examine the last two. 

If society, as has been remarked, is a sham, from 

the vulgar foundation of commonalty to the crowning 

summit of royalty, especially do we perceive 

the justness of the remark in the Slang makeshifts 

for oaths, and sham exclamations for passion and 

temper. 

These apologies for feeling are a disgrace 

to our vernacular, although it is some satisfaction to 

know that they serve the purpose of reducing the 

stock of national profanity. " You be blowed," 

or "I'll BE BLOWED IF," &c., is an exclamation 

often heard in the streets. Blazes, or " like 

BLAZES," came probably from the army. Blast, 

too, although in general vulgar use, may have had 

a like origin ; so may the phrase, " I wish I may be 

SHOT, if," &c. Blow me tight, is a very windy 

and common exclamation. The same may be said 

of STRIKE ME LUCKY, NEVER TRUST ME, and 

SO HELP ME DAVY; the latter derived from the 

truer old phrase, i'll take my davy On't, i.e., 

my affidavit, DAVY being a corruption of that word. 

By golly, gol darn it, and so help me bob, 

are evident shams for profane oaths. Nation is 

but a softening of damnation; and OD, whether 

or

86 SLANG SWEARING. 

used in OD DRAT IT, or Od's BLOOD, is but an 

apology for the name of the Deity. The Irish 

phrase, bad SCran to ter ! is equivalent to wishing 

a person bad food. " I'm sniggered if you 

will," 

and " I'm jiggered," are other stupid forms 

of mild swearing",—fearful 

of committing an open 

profanity, yet slyly nibbling at the sin. Both 

DEUCE and DICKENS are vulgar old synonymes for 

the devil; and ZOUNDS is an abbreviation of GOd's 

WOUNDS,—a very ancient catholic oath. 

In a casual survey of the territory of Slang, it is 

curious to observe how well represented are the 

familiar wants and failings of life. First, there's 

money, with one hundred and twenty Slang terms 

and synonymes; then comes drink, from small 

beer to champagne; and next, as a very natural 

sequence, intoxication, and fuddlement generally, 

with some half a hundred vulgar terms, graduating 

the scale 

to the soaky state 

of drunkenness from a slight inebriation, 

of gutterdom and stretcherdom 

—I pray the reader to forgive the expressions. 

The Slang synonymes for mild intoxication are 

certainly very choice,—they are beery, bemused, 

BOOZY, BOSKY, BUFFY, CORNED, FOGGY, FOU, 

FRESH, HAZY, ELEVATED, KISKY, LUSHY, 

MOONY, MUGGY, MUZZY, ON, SCREWED, STEWED, 

TIGHT, and wiNEY. A higher or more intense 

state of beastliness is represented by the expressions, 

PODGY, BEARGERED, BLUED, CUT, PRIMED,

SLANG TERMS FOR DRUNKENNESS. 87 

LUMPY, PLOUGHED, MUDDLED, OBFUSCATED, 

SWIPEY, THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND, and TOP- 

HEAVY. But the climax of fuddlement is only 

obtained when the disguised individual can't 

SEE A HOLE IN A LADDER, or when he is all 

MOPS AND BROOMS, Or OFF HIS NUT, Or with his 

main-brace well SPLICED, or with the sun in 

HIS EYES, or when he has lapped the gutter, 

and got the gravel rash, or on the ran-tan, or 

on the re-raw, or when he is sewed up, or 

regularly SCAMMERED,—then, and not till then, 

is he entitled in vulgar society to the title of 

LUSHINGTON, or recommended to put in the 

pin.

DICTIONARY OF MODERN 

SLANG, CANT, & VULGAR WORDS; 

MANY WITH THEIR ETYMOLOGIES TRACED. 

A 1, first rate, the very best ; 

" she's a prime girl she is ; she is 

A 1." Sam Slich. The highest classification of ships at 

Lloyd's ; common term in the United States, also at Liverpool 

and other English seaports. Another, even more 

intensitive form, is " first-class, letter A, No. 1." 

ABOUT RIGHT, "to do the thing about right," i.e., to do it 

properly, soundly, correctly j 

" he guv it 'im about bight," 

i.e., he beat him severely, 

ABRAM-SHAM, or sham-abraham, to feign sickness or distress. 

From ABRAM MAN, the ancient cant term for a begging 

impostor, or one who pretended to have been mad. Burton's 

Anatomy of Melancholy, part i., sec. 2, vol. i., p. 360. 

When Abraham Newland was Cashier of the Bank of England, 

and signed their notes, it was sung : 

" I have heard people say 

That SHAM ABRAHAM you Hiay, 

But you mustn't sham Abraham Newland." 

ABSQUATULATE, to run away, or abscond ; a hybrid American 

expression, from the Latin ab, and " squat," to settle. 

ADAM'S ALE, water. English. The Scotch term is adam's wine. 

AGGERAWATORS (corruption of Aggravators), the greasy 

locks of hair in vogue among costermongers and other 

street folk, worn twisted fi-om the temple back towards

90 A DICTIONARY OF 

the ear. They are also, from a supposed resemblance in 

form, termed newgate knockebs, which see. Sola's Gatlight, 

&c. 

ALDERMAN, a half crown — possibly from its rotundity. 

ALDERMAN, a turkey. 

ALDERMAN IN CHAINS, a turkey hung with sausages. 

ALL OF A HUGH ! 

all on one side, or with a thump ; the 

word HUGH being pronounced with a grunt. 

Suffolk. 

ALL MY EYE, answer of astonishment to an improbable story 

ALL MY EYE AND BETTY MARTIN, a vulgar phrase with similar 

meaning, said to be the commencement of a Popish praj'er 

to St. Martin, " Oh mihi, beate Martine," and fallen into 

discredit at the Reformation. 

ALL-OVERISH, neither sick nor well, the premonitory symptoms 

of illness. 

ALL-ROUNDERS, the fashionable shirt 

collars of the present 

time worn meeting in front. 

ALL-SERENE, an ejaculation of acquiescence. 

ALLS, tap-droppings, refuse spirits sold at a cheap rate in ginpalaces. 

See LOVEAGE. 

ALL-THERE, in strict fashion, first-rate, "up to the mark;" a 

vulgar person would speak of a spruce, showily-dressed 

female as being all-theke. An artizan would use the 

same phrase to express the capabilities of a skilful fellow 

workman. 

ALL TO PIECES, utterly, excessively ; 

" he beat him all to 

PIECES," i.e.. excelled or surpassed him exceedingly. 

ALL TO SMASH, or gone to pieces, bankrupt, or smashed to 

pieces. Some rsetsh ire. 

ALMIGHTY DOLLAR, an Amencan expression for the " power 

of money," first introduced by Washington Irving in 1837. 

AN'T, or A'iN'T, the vulgar abbreviation of "am not," or "are 

not." 

ANOINTING, a good beating. 

ANY HOW, in any way, or at any rate, bad ; 

" he went on ant 

how," ie., badly or indifferently. 

APPLE CART, " down with his apple cart," i.e., upset him. 

North. 

APPLE PIE ORDER, in exact or very nice order. 

AREA-SNEAK, a boy thief who commits depredations upon 

kitchens and cellars. See CBOW.

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 91 

ARGOT, a term used amongst London thieves for their secret 

or cant language. French term for slang. 

ARTICLE, a man or boy, derisive term. 

ARY, corruption of ever a, e'er a ; art one, e'er a one. 

ATTACK, to carve, or commence operations on ; "attack that 

beef, and oblige !" 

ATTIC, the head ; 

" queer in the attic," intoxicated. Pugilistic. 

AUNT-SALLY, a favourite game on race-courses and at fairs, 

consisting of a wooden head mounted on a stick, firmly 

fixed in the ground ; in the nose of which, or rather in that 

part of the facial arrangement of aunt sally which is 

generally considered incomplete without a nasal projection, a 

tobacco pipe is inserted. The fun consists in standing at a 

distance and demolishing aunt sally's pipe-clay projection 

with short bludgeons, very similar to the half of a broomhandle. 

The Duke of Beaufort is a " crack hand" at smashing 

pipe noses, and Lis performances two years ago on 

Brighton race-course are yet fresh in remembrance. The 

noble Duke, in the summer months, frequently drives the 

old London and Brighton four-horse mail coach, "Age"— 

whim singular enough now, but common forty years ago." 

AUTUMN, a slang term for an execution by hanging. When 

the drop was introduced instead of the old gallows, cart, and 

ladder, and a man was for the first time "turned-off" in 

the pi'esent fashion, the mob were so pleased with the 

invention that they spoke of the operation as at autumn, 

or the FALL OP the leap (sc. the drop), with the man 

about to be hung. 

AVAST, a sailor's phrase for stop, shut up, go away,—apparently 

connected with the old cant, bynge a waste. 

AWAKE, or fly, knowing, thoroughly understanding, not 

ignorant of. The phrase WIDE awake carries the same 

meaning in ordinary conversation. 

AWFUL (or, with the 

Cockneys, orful), a senseless expletive, 

used to intensify a description of anything good or bad 

"what an awful fine woman!" i.e., how handsome, 

; 

or 

showy ! 

AXE, to ask. Saxon, acsian. 

BABES, the lowest order of knock-outs (which see), who are 

prevailed upon not to give opposing biddings at auctions, in 

consideration of their receiving a small sum (from one 

shilling to half-a-crown), and a certain quantity of beer. 

Babes exist in Baltimore, U.S., where they are known as 

blackguards and " rowdies."


BACK JUMP, a back window. 

BACK SLANG IT, to go out the back way. 

BACK OUT, to retreat from a difficulty ; the reverse of CO 

AHEAD. Metaphor borrowed from the stables. 

BACON, " to save one's bacon," to escape. 

BAD, " to go to the bad," to deteriorate in character, be ruined. 

Virgil has an exactly similar phrase^ in pejus ruere. 

BAGMAN, a commercial traveller. 

BAGS, trowsers. Trowsers of an extensive pattern, or exaggerated 

fashionable cut, have lately been termed howling- 

BAGS, but only when the style has been very "loud." The 

word is probably an abbreviation for b-mbags. " To have 

the BAGS off," to be of age and one's own master, to have 

plenty of money. 

BAKE, " he's only half baked," i.e., soft, inexperienced. 

BAKER'S DOZEN. This consists of thirteen or fourteen ; the 

surplus number, called the inbread, being thrown in for 

fear of incurring the penalty for short weight. To " give a 

man a baker's dozen," in a slang sense, means to give him 

an extra good beating or pummelling. 

BALAAM, printers' slang for matter kept in type about monstrous 

productions of nature, &c., to fill up spaces in newspapers 

that would otherwise be vacant. The term balaambox 

has long been used in Blackwood as the name of the 

depository for rejected articles. 

BALL, prison allowance, viz., six ounces of meat. 

BALLYRAG, to scold vehemently, to swindle one out of his 

money by intimidation and sheer abuse, as alleged in a late 

cab case {Evans v. Robinson). 

BALMY, insane. 

BAMBOOZLE, to deceive, make fun of, or cheat a person 

abbreviated to bam, which is used also as a substantive, 

a deception, a sham, a " sell." Sicift says bamboozle was 

invented by a nobleman in the reign of Charles II.; but 

this I conceive to be an error. The probability is that a 

nobleman first used it in polite society. The term is derived 

from the Gipseys. 

BANDED, hungry. 

BANDY, or cripple, a sixpence, so called from this coin being 

generally bent or crooked; old term for flimsy or bad 

cloth, temp. Q. Elizabeth. 

BANG, to excel or surpass; banging, great or thumping.


BANG-UP, first-rate. 

BANTLING, a child ; stated in Bacchm and Venus, 1737, and 

by Grose, to be a cant term. 

BANYAN-DAY, a day on which no meat is served out for 

rations; probably derived from the banians, a Hindoo 

caste, who abstain from animal food. Sea. 

BAE, or BARRING, excepting; in common use in the bettingring; 

" I bet against the field bar two." The Irish use of 

barrin' is very similar. 

BARKER, a man employed to cry at the doors of "gaffs," shows, 

and puffing shops, to entice people inside. 

BARKING IRONS, pistols. 

BARNACLES, a pair of spectacles ; corruption of binoculi ? 

BARNEY, a lark, spree, rough enjoyment ; 

" get up a barnbt," 

to have a " lark." 

BARNEY, a mob, a crowd. 

BARN-STORMERS, theatrical performers who travel the 

country and act in barns, selecting short and frantic pieces 

to suit the rustic taste. Theatrical. 

BARRIKIN, jargon, speech, or discourse; "we can't tumble to 

that BARRIKIN," i.e., we don't understand what he says. 

Miege calls it " a sort of stuff." 

BASH, to beat, thrash " 

; bashing a donna," beating a woman 

originally a provincial word, and chiefly applied to the 

practice of beating walnut trees, when in bud, with long 

poles, to increase their productiveness. Hence the West 

country proverb 

"A woman, a whelp, and a walnut tree. 

The more you bash 'em, the better they be." 

BAT, " on his own bat," on his own account. 

See hook. 

BATS, a pair of bad boots. 

BATTER, " on the batter," literally " on the streets," or given 

up to roistering and debauchery. 

BATTLES, the students' term at Oxford for rations. At Cambridge, 

COMMONS. 

BAWDYKEN, a brothel.—See ken. 

BAZAAR, a shop or counter. Gipsey and Hindoo, a market. 

BEAK, a magistrate, judge, or policeman " 

; baffling the beak," 

to get remanded. Ancient cant, beck. Saxon, beao, a 

necklace or gold collar—emblem of authority. Sir John 

Fielding was called the blind-beak in the last century


Query, if connected with the Italian becco, which means a 

(bird's) beah, and also a blockhead. 

BEAKER-HUI^TER, a stealer of poultry. 

BEANS, money " 

; a haddock of beans," a purse of money 

formerly BEAN meant a guinea; French, biexs, property; 

also used as a synonyme for brick, which see. 

BEAR, one who contracts to deliver or sell a certain quantity of 

stock in the public funds on a forthcoming day at a stated 

place, but who does not possess it, trusting to a decline in 

public securities to enable him to fulfil the agreement and 

realise a profit.— (See bull. Both words are slang terms on 

the Stock Exchange, and are frequently used in the business 

columns of newspapers. 

"He who sells that of which he is not possessed is proverbially 

eaid to sell the skin before he has caught the bbab. It was the 

practice of stock-jobbers, in the year 1720, to enter into a contract 

for transferring South Sea Stock at a future time for a certain 

price ; but he who contracted to sell had frequently no stock to 

transfer, nor did he who bought intend to receive any in consequence 

of his bargain; the seller was, therefore, called a bear, in allusion 

to the proverb, and the buyer a bcll, perhaps only as a similar 

distinction. The contract was merely a wazer, to be determined by 

the rise or fall of stock ; if it rose, the seller paid the difference to 

the buyer, proportioned to the sum determined by the same computation 

to the seller." Dr. Warlon on Pope. 

BEARGERED, to be druuk. 

BEAT, or beat-hollow, to surpass or excel. 

BEAT, the allotted range traversed by a policeman on duty. 

BEAT-OUT, DEAD-BEAT, tired or fagged. 

BEATER-CASES, boots : Nearly obsolete. 

BEAVER, old street term for a hat ; Goss is the modem word, 

BEAVER, except in the country, having fallen into disuse. 

BE-BLOWED, a windy exclamation equivalent to an oath. See 

BLOW-ME. 

BED-POST, " in the twinkling of a bed-post," in a moment, or 

very quickly. Originally bed-staff, a stick placed vertically 

in the frame of a bed to keep the bedding in its 

place. ShadwelVs Virtuoso, 1676, act i., scene 1. This was 

used sometimes as a defensive weapon. 

BEE, "to have a bee in one's bonnet," i.e., to be not exactly 

sane. 

BEERY, intoxicated, or fuddled with beer. 

BEESWAX, poor soft cheese. 

BEETLE-CRUSHERS, or squasheeb, large flat feet.

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WORDS, 95 

BELCHER, a kind of handkerchief. 

See billy. 

BELL, a song. 

BELLOWS, the lungs. 

BELLOWSED, or lagged, transported. 

BELLOWS-TO-MEND, out of breath. 

BELLY-TIMBER, food, or "grub." 

BELLY-VENGEANCE, small sour beer, apt to cause gastralgia. 

BEMUSE, to fuddle one's self with drink, " bemusing himself 

with beer," &c. Sala's Gas-light and Day-light, p. 308. 

BEN, a benefit.— Theatrical. 

BEND, "that's above my bend," i.e., beyond my power, too 

expensive, or too difficult for me to perform. 

BENDER, a sixpence,—from its liability to bend. 

BENDER, the arm ; " over the bender," synonymous with 

" over the left." See over. Also an ironical exclamation 

similar to walker. 

BENE, good. Ancient cant; benar was the comparative. See 

BONE. Latin. 

BENJAMIN, a coat. Formerly termed a Joseph, in allusion, 

perhaps, to Joseph's coat of many colours. See upperbenjamin. 

BENJY, a waistcoat. 

BEONG, a shilling. 

See saltee. 

BESTER, a low betting cheat. 

BESTING, excelling, cheating. Bested, taken in, or defrauded. 

BETTER, more ; "how far is it to town ?" " oh, better 'n a 

mile. Saxon and Old English, now a vulgarism. 

BETTY, a skeleton key, or picklock. Old cant. 

B. FLATS, bugs. 

BIBLE CARRIER, a person who sells songs without singing 

them. 

BIG, "to look BIG," to assume an inflated dress, or manner; "to 

talk BIG," i e., boastingly, or with an " extensive" air. 

BIG-HOUSE, the work-house. 

BILBO, a sword; abbrev. of bilboa blade. Spanish swords 

were anciently very celebrated, especially those of Toledo, 

Bilboa, &c. 

BILK, a cheat, or a swindler. Formerly in frequent use, now 

confined to the streets, where it is very general. Gothic, 

bilaican.


BILK, to defraud, or obtain goods, &c. without paying for 

them ; 

" to bilk the schoolmaster," to get information or 

experience without paying for it. 

BILLINGSGATE (when applied to speech), foul and coarse 

language. Not many years since, one of the London notorieties 

was to hear the fishwomen at Billingsgate abuse each 

other. The anecdote of Dr. Johnson and the Billingsgate 

virago is well known. 

BILLY, a silk pocket handkerchief. 

Scotch.— See wipe. 

•iiE* A list of the slang terms descriptive of the various 

patterns of handkerchiefs, pocket and neck, is here subjoined: 

Belcheb, close striped pattern, yellow silk, and intermixed 

with white and a little black ; named from 

the pugilist, Jim Belcher. 

Bied's eye wt;pe, diamond spots. 

Blood RED fancy, red. 

Blue billy, blue ground with white spots. 

Cream faxcy, any pattern on a white ground. 

Green king's man, any pattern on a green ground. 

Randal's man, green, with white spots; named after 

Jack Randal, pugilist. 

Water's man, sky coloured. 

Yellow fancy, yellow, with white spots. 

Yellow man, all yellow. 

BILLY-BARLOW, a street clown ; sometimes termed a jim 

CROW, or SALTIMBANCO,— so called from the hero of a slang 

song. Bulwer's Paul Clifford. 

BILLY-HUNTING, buying old metal. 

BIRD-CAGE, a four-wheeled cab. 

BIT, fourpence ; in America 12^ cents is called a bit, and a 

defaced 20 cent piece is termed a long bit. A bit is the 

smallest coin in Jamaica, equal to 6d. 

BIT, a purse, or any sum of money. 

BIT-FAKER, or turner out, a coiner of bad money. 

BITCH, tea; "a bitch party," a tea-drinking. University. 

BITE, a cheat " 

; a Yorkshire bite," a cheating fellow from that 

county. North; also old slang, used by Pope. Swifc says 

it originated with a nobleman in his day. 

BITE, to cheat ; 

" to be bitten," to be taken in or imposed 

upon. Originally a Gipsey term. See Bacchus and Venus. 

BIVVY, or gattee, beer ; 

" shant of bitvy," a pot, or quart of


beer. In Suffolk, tbe afternoon refreshment of reapers is 

called BEVEK. It is also an old English term. 

"He is none of those same ordinary eaters, that will devour three breakfasts, 

and as many dinners, without any prejudice to their bevebs, 

drinkings, or suppers." Btaummit and FLetchei-'s Woman Hater 

1—3. 

Both words are probably from the Italian, hevere, here. Lalio, 

hibere. English, beverage. 

BLACK AND WHITE, handwriting. 

BLACKBERRY-SWAGGER, a person who hawks tapes, boot 

laces, &c. 

BLACK-LEG, a rascal, swindler, or card cheat. 

BLACK-SHEEP, a "bad lot," " mauvais sujsf;" also a 

workman who refuses to join in a strike. 

BLACK-STRAP, port wine. 

BLADE, a man—in ancient times the term for a soldier; 

" knowing blade," a wide awake, sharp, or cunning man. 

BLACKGUARD, a low, or dirty fellow. 

"A cant word amongst the vulgar, by which is implied a dirty fellow 

of the meanest kind. Dr. Johnson says, and he cites only the 

modern authority of Swift. r>ut the introduction of this word into 

our language belongs not to the vulgar, and is more than a century 

prior to the time of Swift. Mr. Malone agrees with me in 

exhibiting the two first of the following examples. The hlack-gwird 

is evidently designed to imply a fit attendant on the devil. Mr. 

Gifford, however, in his late edition of Ben Jonson's works, assigns 

au origin of the name different from what the old examples 

which I have cited seem to countenance. It has been firmed, 

he saj-s, from those 'mean and dirty dependants, in great houses, 

who were selected to carry coals to the kitchen, halls, &c. To this 

smutty regiment, who atteniled the progresses, and rode in the 

carts with the ppts and kettles, which, with every other article of 

furniture, were then moved from palace to palace, the people, iu 

derision, gave the name of bluek guards; a term since become 

sufficiently familiar, and never properly explained.'—lienJonson, 

ii. 1(>9, vii. 250 " 2'odd's Johnsoii's Dicliuiiary. 

BLARNEY, flattery, exaggeration. 

Hibcrnicism, 

BLAST, to curse. 

BLAZES, " like blazes," furious or desperate, alow comparison. 

BLEST, a vow ; " blest if I'll do it," i.e., I am determined not 

to do it ; euphemism for cubst. 

BLEED, to victimise, or extract money from a person, to spunge 

on, to make suffer vindictively. 

BLEW, or BLOW, to inform, or peach. 

BLEWED, got rid of, disposed of, spent; "I blewbd all my 

blunc last night," I spent all my money. 

H

"the 


BLIND, a pretence, or make believe. 

BLIND-HOOKEY, a gambling game at cards. 

BLINKER, a blackened eye.~ Norwich slang. 

BLINK FENCER, a person who sells spectacles. 

BLOAK, or bloke, a man ; 

bloak with a jasey," the man 

with a wig, i.e., the Judge. Gipsey and Hindoo, loke. 

North, BLOACHER, any large animal. 

BLOB (from blab), to talk. Beggars are of two kinds,—those 

who SCREEVE (introduce themselves with a fakement, or 

false document), and those who blob, or state their case in 

their own truly " unvarnished " language. 

BLOCK, the head. 

BLOCK ORNAMENTS, the small dark coloured pieces of meat 

exposed on the cheap butchers' blocks or counters,—^debateabie 

points to all the sharp visaged argumentative old 

women in low neighbourhoods. 

BLOOD, a fast or high-mettled man. Nearly obsolete in the 

sense in which it was used in George the Fourth's time. 

BLOOD-RED FANCY, a kind of handkerchief worn by pugilists 

and frequenters of prize fights. See billy. 

BLOODY -JEMMY, a sheep's head. See sanquinaby james. 

BLOW, to expose, or inform ; 

" blow the gaff," to inform 

against a person. In America, to blow is slang for to taunt. 

BLOW A CLOUD, to smoke a cigar or pipe—a phrase in \ise 

two centuries ago. 

BLOW ME, or blow me tight, a vow, a ridiculous and unmeaning 

ejaculation, inferring an appeal to the ejaculator; "I'm 

SLOWED if you will " is a common expression among the 

lower orders " 

; BLOW me up " was the term a century ago. 

— See Parker's Adventures, 1781. 

BLOW OUT, or tuck in, a feast. 

BLOW UP, to make a noise, or scold ; formerly a cant expression 

used amongst thieves, now a recognised and respectable 

phrase. Blowing up, a jobation, a scolding. 

BLOWEN, a showy or flaunting prostitute, a thief's paramour. 

In Wilts, a blowen is a blossom. Germ, bluhen, to bloom. 

" Ju buUieade Madchen viel schone Willkomm !" German Song. 

Possibly, however, the street term blowen may mean one 

whose reputation has been blown upon, or damaged. 

BLOWER, a girl; a contemptuous name in opposition to jomer. 

BLUBBER, to cry in a childish manner. Ancient,


BLUDGERS, low thieves, who use violence. 

BLUE, a policeman; "disguised in blue and liquor." Boots at 

the Swan. 

BLUE, or BLEW, to pawn or pledge. 

•' 

BLUE, confounded or surprised ; to look blue," to be astonished 

or disappointed. 

BLUE BILLY, the handkerchief (blue ground with white spots) 

worn and used at prize fights. Before a set to, it is common 

to take it from the neck and tie it round the leg as a garter, 

or round the waist, to " keep in the wind." Also, the refuse 

ammoniacal lime from gas factories. 

BLUE BLANKET, a rough over coat made of coarse pilot cloth. 

BLUE-BOTTLE, a policeman. It is singular that this well 

known slang term for a London constable should have been 

used by Shakespere. In part ii. of King Henry IV., act v., 

6cene 4, Doll Tearsheet calls the beadle, who is dragging 

her in, a " thin man in a censer, a blue-bottle rogue." 

BLUED, or blewed, tipsey or drunk. 

BLUE DEVILS, the apparitions supposed to be seen by habitual 

drunkards. 

BLUE MOON, an unlimited period. 

BLUE MURDER, a desperate or alarming cry. French, mort- 

BLEU. 

BLUE RUIN, gin. 

BLUE-PIGEON FLYERS, journeymen plumbers, glaziers, and 

others, who, under the plea of repairing houses, strip off the 

lead, and make way with it. Sometimes they get off with 

it by wrapping it round their bodies. 

BLUES, a fit of despondency.— 5ee blue DEVILS. 

BLUEY, lead. German, blei. 

BLUFF, an excuse. 

BLUFF, to turn aside, stop, or excuse. 

BLUNT, money. It has been said that this term is from the 

French blond, saudy or golden colour, and that a parallel 

may be found in brown or browns, the slang for half-pence. 

The etymology seems far fetched, however, 

BLURT OUT, to speak from impulse, and without reflection. 

Shakespere. 

BOB, a shilling. Formerly bobstick, which may have been the 

original. 

H 2

100 A DICTIONARY OP 

BOB, " s'help my bob," a street oath, equivalent to "so help me 

God." Other words are used in street language for a similarly 

evasive purpose, ie., cat, greens, tatur, &c., all 

equally profane and. disgusting. 

BOBBISH, very well, clever, spruce; "how are you doing?" 

" oh ! pretty bobbish."— Old. 

BOBBY, a policeman. Both bobby and peeler were nicknames 

given to the new police, in allusion to the christian 

and surnames of tLe late Sir Robert Peel, who was the prime 

mover in effecting their introduction and improvement. 

The term bobby is,' however, older than the Saturday 

Reviewer, in bis childish and petulant remarks, imagines. 

The official square-keeper, who is always armed, with a cane 

to drive away idle and disorderly urchms, has, time out of 

mind, been called by the said urchins, bobby the Beadle. 

Bobby is also, I may remark, an old English word for striking 

or hitting, a quality not; unknown to policemen. See 

HalliweU's Dictionary. 

BODMINTON, hlood.—Pugilistic. 

BODY-SNATCHERS, bailiffs and runners : snatch, the trick 

by which the bailiff capt;ures the delinquent;. 

BODY-SNATCHERS, cat stealers. 

BOG or bog-house, a water-closet. School term. In the Inns 

of Court, I am informed, this term is very common. 

BOG-TROTTER, satirical name for an Irishman. Miege. Camden, 

however, speaking of the " debateable land " on the 

borders of England and Scotland, says " both these dales 

breed notable bog-trotteks." 

BOILERS, the slang name given to the New Kensington Museuui 

and School of Art, in allusion to the peculiar form of the 

buildings, and the fact of their being mainly composed of, 

and covered with, sheet iron. See pepper-boxes. 

BOLT, to run away, decamp, or abscond. 

BOLT, to swallow without chewing. 

BONE, good, excellent. 0, the vagabond's hieroglyphic for 

bone, or good, chalked by them on houses and street 

corners, as a hint to succeeding beggars. 

French, bon. 

BONE, to steal or pilfer. Boned, seized, apprehended.— 0?d. 

BONE-GRUBBERS, persons who hunt dust-holes, 

gutters, and 

all likely spots for refuse bones, which they sell at the ragshops, 

or to the bone-grinders. 

BONE-PICKER, a footman.


BOXES, dice ; 

also called ST. Hugh's bones. 

BONES, " he made no bones of it," he did not hesitate, i.e., 

undertook and finished the work without difficulty, " found 

no BONES iu the jelly." Ancient, vide Cotgrave. 

BONNET, a gambling cheat. " A man who sits at a gamingtable, 

and appears to be playiug against the table ; when a 

stranger enters, the bonnet generally sum-i." — Times, Nov. 

17, 1856. Also, a pretence, or make-believe, a sham bidder 

at auctions. 

BONNET, to strike a man's cap or hat over his eyes and nose. 

BONNETTER, one who induces another to gamble. 

BOOK, an arrangement of bets for and against, chronicled iu a 

pocket-book made for that purpose; "making a book upon 

it,'' cammou phrase to denote the general arrangement of a 

person's bets on a race. " That does not suit my book," i.e., 

does not accord with my otber arrangements. Skakespere 

uses book in the sense of " a paper of conditions." 

BOOM, " to tip one's boom off," to be off, or start in a certain 

direction. Sea. 

BOOKED, caught, fixed, disposed of.—Term in Book-keeping. 

BOOZE, drink. Ancient cant, bowse. 

BOOZE, to drink, or more properly, to use another slang term, 

to "lush," viz, to drink continually, until drunk, or nearly 

so. The term is an old one. Harman, in Queen Elizabeth's 

days, speaks of " bousing (or boozing) and belly-cheere." 

The term was good English in the fourteenth century, and 

comes from the Dutch, boyzen, to tipple. 

BOOZE, or sucK-CASA, a public-house. 

BOOZINQ-KEN, a beer-shop, a low public house, 

Ancient. 

BOOZY, intoxicated or fuddled. 

BORE, a troublesome friend or acquaintance, a nuisance, anything 

which wearies or annoys. The Oradus ad Cantab rigiam 

suggests the derivation of bore from the Greek, Bapos, a 

burden. Skakespere uses it. King Henry VIII., i., 1 

at this instant 

He BORES me with some trick." 

Grose speaks of this word as being much in fashion about 

the year 1780-81, and states that it vanished of a sudden, 

without leaving a trace behind. Not so, burly Grose, the 

term is still in favour, and is as piquant and expressive as 

ever. Of the modern sense of the word bobe, the Prince


Consort made an amusing and efiTective use in his masterly 

address to the British Association, at Aberdeen, September 

14, 1859. He said (as reported by the Times):— 

" I will not weary yon by further examples, with which most of yoo 

are better acquainted than I am myself^ but merely express my 

satisfaction that there should exist bodies of men who will bring 

the well-considered and understood wants of science before the 

public and the Government, who will even hand round the begfringbox, 

and expose themselves to refusils and rebufiFs, to which all 

beggars all liable, with the certainty besides of being considered 

great sokes. Please to recollect that this species of " bore " is a 

most useful animal, well adapted for the ends for which nature 

intended him. He alone, by constantly returning to the charge, 

and repeating the same truths and the same requests, succeeds in 

awakening attention to the cause which he advocates, and obtains 

that hearing which ia granted him at laat for self-protection, as 

the minor evil compared to his importunity, bat which is requisite 

to make his cause understood." 

BOSH, nonsense, stupidity. Gipsey and Persian, Also pure 

Turkish, BOSH lakerdi, emi)ty talk. A person, iu the 

Saturday Review, has stated that bosh is coeval with Morier's 

novel, Hadji Babi, which was published in 1828 ; but this is 

a blunder. The term was used in this country as early as 

1760, and may be found in the Student, voL ii., p. 217. 

BOSH, a fiddle. 

BOSH-FAKER, a violin player. 

BOS-KEN, a farm-house. Ancient.— S-.e ken. 

BOSKY, inebriated —Household Words, No. 183. 

BOSMAN, a farmer; "fakidg a bossian on the main toby," robbing 

a farmer on the highway. Boss, a master. American. 

Both terms from the Dutch, bosch-max, one who lives in 

the woods ; otherwise Boschjeinan or Bushman. 

BOSS-EYED, a person with one eye, or rather with one eye 

injured. 

BOTHER, to teaze, to annoy. 

BOTHER (from the Hibemicism potheb), trouble, or annoyance. 

Grose has a singular derivation, bother, or both-eared, 

from two persons talking at the same time, or to both ears. 

Blotheb, an old word, signifying to chatter idly. — /See 

Halliwell. 

BOTHERATION ! trouble, annoyance ; 

" botheration to it," 

confound it, or deuce take it, an exclamation when irritated. 

BOTTLE-HOLDER, an assistant to a " Second,"—Pugilistic ; an 

abettor ; also, the bridegroom's man at a wedding, 

BOTTY, conceited, swaggering.


BOUNCE, impudence. 

BOUNCE, a showy swindler. 

BOUNCE, to boast, cheat, or bully, Old cant. 

BOUNCER, a person who steals whilst bargaining with a tradesman 

; a lie. 

BOUNDER, a four-wheel cab. Lucus a non lucendo ? 

BOUNETTER, a fortune-telling cheat— Gljysey. 

BOW-CATCHERS, or kiss curls, small curls twisted on the 

cheeks or temples of young—and often old — girls, adhering 

to the face as if gummed or pasted. Evidently a corruption 

of BEAU-CATCHERS. In old times these were called lovelocks, 

when they were the marks at which all the puritan 

and ranting preachers levelled their pulpit pop-guns, loaded 

with sharp and virulent abuse. Hall and Pryune looked 

upon all women as strumpets who dared to let the hair 

depart from a straight line upon their cheeks. The French 

prettily term them accroche-coeurs, whilst in the United 

States they are 

:— plainly and unpleasantly called spit- curls. 

Bartlett says " Spit curl, a detached lock of hair curled 

upon the temple ; 

probably from having been at first 

filastered into shape bj^ the saliva. It is now understood 

that the mucilage of quince seed is used by the ladies for 

this purpose." 

" Yon may prate of your lips, and your teeth of pearl, 

And jour eyes so brightly flashing ; 

My song shall be of that saliva cubl 

Which threatens my heart to smash in." 

Boston Tiuiiscnpt, October 30, 1858. 

When men twist the hair on each side of their faces into ropes 

they are sometimes called bell-ropes, as being wherewith 

to draw the belles. Whether bell- ropes or bow-catchers, 

it is singular they should form part of the prisoner's paraphernalia, 

and that a jaunty little kiss-mc quick curl should, 

of all things in the world, ornament a gaol dock ; 

yet such 

was formerly the case. Htint, the murderer of Weare, on 

his trial, we are informed by the Atlienceum, appeared at the 

bar with a highly pomatumed lovelock sticking tight to his 

forehead. Young ladies, think of this ! 

BOWL-OUT, to put out of the game, to remove out of one's 

way, to detect. Cricketing term. 

BOWLAS, round tarts made of sugar, apple, and bread, sold 

the streets. 

BOWLES, shoes. 

iu

; 

glyptic 


BOX-HARRY, a term with bagmen or commercial travellers, 

implying dinner and tea at one meal ; also dining with 

Humphrey, i.e., going without. Lincolnshire. 

BRACE UP, to pawn stolen goods. 

BRACELETS, handcuffs. 

BRADS, money. Properly, a small kind of nails used by cobblers.—Compare 

horse nails. 

BRAD-FAKING, playing at cards. 

BRAGGADOCIO, three months' imprisonment as a reputed 

thief or old offender,—sometimes termed a dose, or a dollop. 

— Household Words, vol. i., p. 579. 

BRAN-NEW, quite.new. Properly, Brent, brand, or Fire-new, 

i.e., fresh from the anvil. 

BRASS, money. 

BREAD-BASKET, dumpling depot, victualling office, &c., 

are terms given by the "Fancy" to the digestive organ, 

BREAK-DOWN, a jovial, social gathering, a flare up ; in 

Ireland, a wedding. 

BREAKING SHINS, borrowing money. 

BREAKY-LEG, a shilling. 

BREAKY-LEG, strong drink ; "he's been to Bungay fair, and 

BROKE BOTH HIS LEGS,' i.c , 

got diuuk. In the ancient 

Egyptian language the determinative character in the hieroverb 

" to be druuk," has the 

significant form of the leg of a man 

being amputated. 

BREECHED, or to have the bags off, to have plenty of 

money; "to be well breeched," to be in good circumstances. 

BREECHES, " to wear the breeches," said of a wife who 

usurps the husband's prerogative. 

Scotch, now common. 

BREEKS, breeches. 

BRICK, a "jolly good fellow;" "a regular brick," a staunch 

fellow. 

" I bonnetted Whewell, when we gave the Rads their gruel, 

And taught them to eschew all their addresses to the Quean. 

If again they try it on, why to floor them I'll make one. 

Spite of Peeler or of Don, like a brick and a Bean." 

The Jolly Bachelors, Cambridge, 1810. 

Said to be derived from an expression of Aristotle, rcTpayuvos 

avTjQ.


BRIEF, a pawnbroker's duplicate. 

BRISKET BEATER, a Roman Catholic. 

BROADS, cards. Broadsman, a card sharper. 

BROAD AND SHALLOW, an epithet applied to the so-called 

" Broad church," in contradistinction to the " High" and 

" Low" Church. See high and dry. 

BROAD -FENCER, card seller at races. 

BROSIER, a bankrupt.— ChesMre. Brosier-mt-DAME, school 

term, implying a clearing of the housekeeper's larder of provisions, 

in revenge for stinginess. Eton. 

BROTHER-CHIP, fellow carpenter. Also, brother-whip, a 

fellow coachman ; and brother-blade, of the same occupation 

or calling — originally a fellow soldier. 

BROWN, a halfpenny. See blunt. 

BROWN, " to do BROWN," to do well or completely (in allusion 

to roasting) ; 

" doing it brown," prolonging the frolic, or 

exceeding sober bounds ; 

" done brown," taken in, deceived, 

or surprised. 

BROWN BESS, the old Government regulation musket, 

BROWN PAPERMEN, low gamblers. 

BROWN SALVE, a token of surprise at what is heard, and at 

the same time means " I understand you." 

BROWN-STUDY, a revei-ie. Veiy common even in educated 

society, but hardly admissible in writing, and therefore 

mu=t be considered a vulgarism. It is derived, by a writer 

in Notes and Queries, from brow study, from the old German 

bbaun, or AUG-BRAUN, an eye-brow. Ben Jonson. 

BROWN-TO, to understand, to comprehend. American. 

BRUISER, a fighting man, a pugilist. Pugilistic. Shakespere 

uses the word bruising in a similar sense. 

BRUMS, counterfeit coins. Nearly obsolete. Corruption of 

Brummagem (Bromwicham), the ancient name of Birmingham, 

the great emporium of plated goods and imitation 

jewellery. 

BRUSH, or brush-off, to run away, or move on. 

Old cant. 

BUB, drink of any kind, See grub, Middleton, the dramatist, 

mentions rubber, a great drinker, 

BUB. a teat, woman's breast, 

BUCK, a gay or smart man, a cuckold.


BUCKHORSE, a smart blow or box on the ear ; 

derived from 

the name of a celebrated " bruiser " of that name, 

BUCKLE, to bend; "I can't buckle to that," I don't understand 

it ; to yield or give in to a person. S.'iakespere uses the 

word in the latter sense, Henry IV., i. 1 ; and Halliwell says 

that "the commentators do not supply another example." 

How strange that in our own streets the term should be 

used every day ! Stop the first costermonger, and he will 

soon inform you the various meaniugs of buckle.— See 

Notes and Queries, vols, vii,, viii., and ix. 

BUCKLE-TO, to bend to one's work, to begin at once, and 

with great energy. 

BUDGE, to move, to inform, to split, or tell tales. 

BUFF, to swear to, or accuse; to split, or peach upon. Old 

word for boasting, 1582. 

BUFF, the bare skin ; "stripped to the bofp." 

BUFFER, a dog. 

hence the term, buff meaning in old English to skin. 

Their skins were formerly in great request 

It is 

still used in the ring, buffed meaning stripped to the skin. 

In Irish cant, buffer is a boxer. The buffer of a railway 

carriage doubtless received its very appropriate name from 

the old pugilistic application of this term. 

BUFFER, a familiar expression for a jolly acquaintance, probably 

from the French, eouffard, a fool or clown ; a "jolly 

old BUFFER," said of a good humoured or liberal old man. 

In 1737, a buffer was a " rogue that killed good sound 

horses for the sake of their skins, by running a long wire 

into them." Bacchus and Venus. The term was once applied 

to those who took false oaths for a consideration. 

BUFFLE HEAD, a stupid or obtuse person. Miege. German, 

BUFFEL-HAUPT, buffalo-headed. 

BUFFY, intoxicated.—ZroM«e/ioW Words, No. 183. 

BUGGY, a gig, or light chaise. 

in Ireland. 

Common term in America and 

BUG-HUNTERS, low wretches who plunder drunken men. 

BUILD, applied in fashionable slang to the make or style of 

dress, &c. ; 

" it's a tidy build, who made it ?" 

BULGER, large ; synonymous with buster. 

BULL, term amongst prisoners for the meat served to them in 

jail. 

BULL, one who agrees to purchase stock at a future day, at a


stated price, but who does not possess money to pay for it, 

trusting to a rise in public securities to render the transaction 

a profitable one. Should stocks fall, the bull is then 

called upon to pay the difference. See bear, who is the 

opposite of a bull, the former selling, tbe latter puicbasing—the 

one operating for a. fall or Si pull down, whilst the 

other operates for a rise or toss up. 

BULL, a crown piece ; formerly, bull's eye. 

BULL-THE-CASK, to pour hot water into an empty rum 

puncheon, and let it stand until it extracts the spirit from 

the wood. The result is drunk by sailors in default of 

something stronger. Sea. 

BULLY, a braggart ; but in the language of the streets, a man 

of the most degraded morals, who protects prostitutes, and 

lives off their miserable earnings. — Shalcespere, Midsummer 

Night's Dream, iii. 1 ; iv. 2. 

BUM, the part on which we sit. Shakespere. Bumbags, trowsers. 

BUM-BAILIFF, a sheriff's officer,—a term, some say, derived 

from the proximity which this gentleman generally maintains 

to his victims. Blackatone asiâ it is a corruption of 

" bound bailiff." 

•BUM-BOATS, shore boats which supply ships with provisions, 

and serve as means of communication between the sailors 

and the shore. 

BUM-BRUSHER, a schoolmaster. 

BUMMAREE. This term is given to a class of speculating 

salesmen at Billingsgate market, not recognised as such by 

the trade, but who get a living by buying large quantities 

of fish of the salesmen and re-selling it to smaller buyers. 

The word has been used in the statutes and bye-laws of 

the markets for upwards of 100 years. It has been variously 

derived, but is most probably from the French, bonne 

MABEE, good fresh fish ! "Marê signifie toute sorte de 

poisson de mer qiii n'est pas said ; bonne marde maree 

fraiche, vendeur de marde," Diet, de I'Acad. Franc. The 

BUMMAREES are accused of many trade tricks. One of them 

is to blow up cod-fish with a pipe until they look double 

their actual size. Of course when the fish come to table 

they are flabby, sunken, and half dwindled away. In Norwich, 

TO BUMMAREE ONE is to ruu up a scoi'c at a public 

house just open, and is equivalent to " running into debt 

with one." 

BUNCH OF FIVES, the hand, or fist.


BUNDLE, " to BUNDLE a person ofif," i.e., to pack him off, seud 

him flying. 

BUNG, the landlord of a public-house. 

BUNG, to give, pass, hand over, drink, or indeed to perform 

any action ; bung op, to close up Pugilistic ; " bung 

over the rag," hand over the money — OW, used by Beaumont 

and Fletcher, and Skakespere. Also, to deceive one by 

a lie, to CRAM, which see. 

BUNKER, beer. 

BUNTS, costermonger's perquisites ; the money obtained by 

giving light weight, &c. ; costermongers' goods sold by 

boys on commission. Probably a corruption of bonus, 

BONE being the slang for good. Bunce, Grose gives as the 

Ciint word for money. 

BURDON'S hotel, Whitecross- street prison, of which the 

Governor is or was a Mr. Bnrdon. 

BURERK, a lady. Grose gives burick, a prostitute. 

BURKE, to kill, to murder, by pitch plaster or other foul 

means. From Burke, the notorious Whitechapel murderer, 

who with others used to waylay people, kill them, and sell 

their bodies for dissection at the hospitals. 

BURYING A MOLL, running away from a mistress. 

BUSKER, a man who sings or performs in a public house. 

Scotch. 

BUSK (or busking), to sell obscene songs and books at the bars 

and in the tap rooms of public houses. Sometimes implies 

selling any articles. 

BUSS, an abbreviation of " omnibus," a public carriage. Also, 

a kiss. 

BUST, or BURST, to tell tales, to split, to infoim. Busting, 

informing against accomplices when in custody. 

BUSTER (burster), a small new loaf ; "twopenny buster," a 

twopenny loaf. "Apennorth o' beeswax (cheese) 

penny buster," a common snack at beershops, 

and a 

BUSTER, an extra size ; 

" what a buster," what a large one ; 

"in for a buster," determined on an extensive frolic or 

spree. Scotch, bustuous ; Icelandic, bostra. 

BUSTLE, money; " to draw the bustle." 

BUTTER, or batter, praise or flatteiy. 

cajole. 

BUTTER-FINGERED, apt to let things fall. 

To btttteb, to flatter,


BUTTON, a decoy, sham purchaser, &e. At any mock or sham 

auction seedy specimens maybe seen. Probably from the 

connection of buttons with Brummagem, which is often used 

as a synonynie for a sham. 

BUTTONER, a man who entices another to play. See bon- 

NETTEB. 

BUTTONS, a page,—from the rows of gilt buttons which adorn 

his jacket. 

BUTTONS, " not to have all one's buttons," to be deficient in 

intellect. 

BUZ, to pick pockets ; 

buz -faking, robbing. 

BUZ, to share equally the last of a bottle of wine, when there 

is not enough for a full glass for each of the party. 

BUZZERS, pickpockets. Grose gives buz cove and buz gloak, 

the latter is very ancient cant. 

BUZ-BLOAK, a pickpocket, who priucipally confines 

his attention 

to purses and loose cash. Grose gives buz-gloak (or 

CLOAK ?), an ancient cant word. Buz napper, a young pickpocket. 

BUZ-NAPPER'S ACADEMY, a school in which young thieves 

are trained. Figures are dressed up, and experienced tutors 

stand in various difficult attitudes for the boys to practice 

upon. When clever enough they are sent on the streets. 

It is reported that a house of this nature is situated in a 

court near Hatton Garden. The system is well explained 

in Dickens' Oliver Twist. 

BYE-BLOW, a bastard child. 

BY GEORGE, an exclamation similar to by jove. The term is 

older than is frequently imagined, vide Bacchus and Venus 

(p. 117), 1737. "Fore (or by) george, I'd knock him 

down." A street compliment to Saint George, the patron 

Saint of England, or possibly to the House of Hanover. 

BY GOLLY, an ejaculation, or oath ; a compromise for " by 

God.'' In the United States, small boys are permitted by 

their guardians to say OOL darn anything, but they are on 

no account allowed to commit the profanity of G—d d-^ g 

anything. An effective ejaculation and moral waste pipe 

for interior psssion or wrath is seen in the exclamation 

BT THK-EVER-LiviNO-JUSiPiNG-MOSES — a harmless phrase, 

that from its length expends a considerable quantity of 

fiery anger.


CAB, in statutory language, " a hackney carriage drawn by one 

horse." Abbreviated from cabriolet, French; originally 

meaning " a light low chaise." The wags of Paris playing 

upon the word (quasi cahri au lait) used to call a superior 

turn-out of the kind a cahri au creme. Our abbreviation, 

which certainly smacks of slang, has been stamped with the 

authority of " George, Ranger." See the notices affixed 

to the carriage entrances of St. James's Park. 

CAB, to stick together, to muck, or tumble up. 

Devonshire. 

CABBAGE, pieces of cloth said to be purloined by tailors. 

CABBAGE, to pilfer or purloin. Termed by Johnson a cant 

word, but adopted by later lexicographers as a respectable 

term. Said to have been first used in this sense by Arbuthnot. 

CABBY, the driver of a cab. 

CAD, or CADGER (from which it is shortened), a mean or vulgar 

fellow ; a beggar ; one who would rather live on other 

people than work for himself; a man trying to worm something 

out of another, either money or information. Johnson 

uses the word, and gives huckster as the meaning, but I 

never heard it used in this sense. Cageb, or oager, the 

old cant term for a man. The exclusives in the Universities 

apply the term cad to all non-members. 

CAD, an omnibus conductor. 

CADGE, to beg in an artful or wheedling manner. North. 

CADGING, begging of the lowest degree. 

CAG-MAG, bad food, scraps, odds and ends; or that which no 

one could relish. Qrose gives cagg maggs, old and tough 

Lincolnshire geese, sent to London to feast the poor 

cockneys. 

CAGE, a minor kind of prison. — Shakespere, part ii. of 

Henry IV., iv. 2. 

CAKE, a flat, a soft or doughy person, a fool. 

CAKEY-PANNUM- FENCER, a man who sells street pastry. 

CALL-A-GO, in street " patter," is to remove to another spot, 

or address the public in different vein. 

CAMESA, shirt or chemise.— Span. Ancient cant, commission. 

CAMISTER, a preacher, clergyman, or master. 

CANARY, a sovereign. This i3 stated by a correspondent to be 

a Norwich term, that city being fomoua for its breed of 

those birds. 

CANISTER, the head.—Pugilistic.

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 

Ill 

CANISTER-CAP, a hat.—Pugilistic. 

CANNIKEN, a small can, similar to pannikin.— Shakespere. 

CANT, a blow or toss; "a cant over the kisser," a blow on the 

mouth Kentish, 

. 

CANT OF TOGS, a gift of clothes. 

CARDINAL, a lady's cloak. This, I am assured, is the Seven 

Dials cant term for a lady's garment, but curiously enough 

the same name is given to the most fashionable patterns of 

the article by Regent-street drapers. A cloak with this 

name was in fashion in the year 1760. It received its title 

from its similarity in shape to one of the vestments of a 

cardinal. 

CARNEY, soft talk, nonsense, gammon. Hlbernicism. 

CAROON, five shillings. French, couronne ; 

—PANSH COURNA, half-a-crown. 

Gipsey, courna, 

CARPET, "upon the carpet," any subject or matter that is 

uppermost for discussion or conversation. Frequently 

quoted as sur le tapis, but it does not seem to be a correct 

Parisian phrase. 

CARRIER PIGEONS, swindlers, who formerly used to cheat 

Lottery Office Keepers. Nearly obsolete. 

CARROTS, the coarse and satirical term for red hair. 

CARRY-ON, to joke a person to excess, to carry on a 

" spree " too far ; 

" how we carried on, to be sure !" i.e., 

what fun we had. 

CART, a race-course. 

CARTS, a pair of shoes. In Norfolk the carapace of a crab is 

called a crah cart, hence carts would be synonymous with 

GRAB SHELLS, which BCC. 

CART WHEEL, a five shilling piece. 

CAS A, or CASE, a house, respectable or otherwise. Probably 

from the Italian, casa.— Old cant. The Dutch use the word 

KAST in a vulgar sense for a house, i.e., mottekast, a brothel. 

Case sometimes means a water-closet. 

CASCADING, vomiting. 

CASE, a bad crown piece. Halk-a-case, a counterfeit half 

crown. Theie are two sources, either of which may have 

contributed this slang term. Caser is the Hebrew word for 

a crown; and silver coin is frequently counterfeited by 

coating or casing pewter or iron imitations with silver.

112 A DICTIOMARY OF 

CASE. A few years ago the term case was applied to persons 

and things ; 

" what a case he is," i.e., what a curious 

person; "a rum case that," or "you are a case," both 

synonymous with the phrase "odd fish,"' common half-acentury 

ago. Among young ladies at boarding schools a 

CASE means a love aflfair. 

CASK, fashionable slang for a brougham, or other private 

carriage. Household Words, No. 183. 

CASSAM, cheese—not caffan, which Egan, in his edition of 

Grose, has ridiculously inserted. Ancient cant. Latin, 

caseus. 

CASTING UP ONE'S ACCOUNTS, vomiting.— OM. 

CASTOK, a hat. Castor was once the ancient word for a 

BEAVER ; and strange to add, beaver was the slang for 

CASTOR, or hat, thirty years ago, before gossamer came 

into fashion. 

CAT, to vomit like a cat. See shoot the cat. 

CAT, a lady's muff; " to free a cat," i.e., steal a muff. 

CATARACT, a black satin scarf arranged for the display of 

jewellery, much in vogue among " commercial gents." 

CATCH EM ALIVE, a trap, also a small-tooth comb. 

CATCHY (similar formation to touchy), inclined to take an 

undue advantage. 

CATEVER, a queer, or singular affair; anything poor, or very 

bad. From the Lingua, FroMca, and Italian, cattivo, bad. 

Variously spelled by the lower orders. See keuteveb. 

CATGUT-SCRAPER, a fiddler. 

CAT-LAP, a contemptuous expression for weak drink. 

CAT S WATER, old Tom, or Gin. 

CAT AND KITTEN SNEAKING, stealing pint and quart pots 

from public-houses. 

CATCH-PENNY, any temporary contrivance to obtain money 

from the public, penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. 

CAT-IN-THE-PAN, a traitor, a turn-coat—derived by some 

from the Greek, Karairav, altogether; or from calce in 

pan, a pan cake, which is frequently turned from side to 

side. 

CAUCUS, a private meeting held for the purpose of concerting 

measures, agreeing upon candidates for ofiice before an 

election, &c. See Pichering's Vocabulary. 

CAVAULTING, coition. Lingua Franca, cavolta.


CAVE, or CAVE in, to submit, shut up. American. Metaphor 

taken from the sinking of an abandoned mining shaft. 

CHAFF, to gammon, joke, quiz, or praise ironically. Chaffbone,tlie 

jaw-bone.— Yorkshire. Chaff, jesting. In Anglo 

Saxon, CEAP is chaff; and ceafl, bill, beak, or jaw. In the 

"Ancien Riwle," a.d. 1221, ceajle is used in the sense of 

idle discourse. 

CHALK- OUT, or chalk down, to mark out a line of conduct 

or action ; to make a rule, order. Phi'ase derived from the 

Workshop. 

CHALK UP, to credit, make entry in account books of indebtedness 

" 1 can't pay you now, but you can chalk it 

UP," i.e., 

; 

charge me with the article in your day-book. 

From the old practice of chalking one's score for drink 

behind the bar- doors of public houses. 

CHALKS, "to walk one's chalks,"' to move off, or run away. 

An ordeal for drunkenness used on board sbip, to see 

whether the suspected person can walk on a chalked line 

without overstepping it on either side. 

C HAP, a fellow, a boy " 

; a low chap," a low fellow—abbreviation 

of CHAP- MAN, a huckster. Used by Byron in his Critical 

Remarks, 

CHARIOT-BUZZING, picking pockets in an omnibus. 

CHARLEY", a watchman, a beadle. 

CHARLEY-PITCHERS, low, cheating gamblers. 

CHATTER BASKET, common term for a prattling child 

amongst nurses. 

CHATTER -BOX, an incessant talker or chatterer. 

CHATTRY-FEEDER, a spoon. 

CHATTS, dice,—formerly the gallows ; a bunch of seals. 

CHATTS, lice, or body vermin. 

CHATTY, a filthy person, one who&o clothes are not free from 

vermin ; chatty doss, a lousy bed. 

CHAUNTER-CULLS, a singular body of men who used to 

haunt certain well known public -houses, and write satirical 

or libellous ballads on any person, or body of persons, for a 

consideration. 7s. 6d. was the usual fee, and in three hours 

the ballad might be heard in St. Paul's Churchyard, or other 

public spot. There are two men in London at the present 

day who gain their living in this way.


CHAUNTERS, those street sellers of ballads, last copies of 

verses, and other broadsheets, who sing or bawl the contents 

of their papers. They often term themselves paper 

WORKERS. A. N.— See HORSE CHAUNTERS. 

CHAUNT, to sing the contents of any paper in the streets. 

Cant, as applied to vulgar language, was derived from 

CHAUNT.- See Introduction. 

CHEAP, " doing it on the cheap," living economically, or 

keeping up a showy appearance with very little means. 

CHEAP JACKS, or Johns, oratorical hucksters and patterers of 

hardware, &c., at fairs and races. They put an article up 

at a high price, and then cheapen it by degrees, indulging 

in volleys of coarse wit, until it becomes to all appearance a 

bargain, and as such it is bought by one of the crowd. The 

popular idea is that the inverse method of auctioneering 

saves them paying for the auction license. 

CHEEK, share or portion " 

; where's my cheek ?" where is my 

allowance ? 

CHEEK, impudence, assurance; cheekt, saucy or forward. 

Lincolnshire, cheek, to accuse. 

CHEEK, to irritate by impudence. 

CHEEK BY JOWL, side by side,—said often of persons in such 

close confabulation as almost to have their faces touch. 

CHEESE, anything good, first-rate in quality, genuine, pleasant, 

or advantageous, is termed the cheese. Mayhew thinks 

cheese, in this sense, is from the Saxon, ceosan, to choose, 

and quotes Chaucer, who uses chese in the sense of choice. 

The London Guide, 1818, says it was from some young 

fellows translating " c'est une autre chose" into "that is 

another cheese.'' Cheese is also Gipsey and Hindoo {see 

Introduction) ; and Persian, chiz, a thing. See stilton. 

CHEESE, or cheese it 

(evidently a corruption of cease), leave 

off, or have done j 

" cheese your barrikin," hold your noise. 

CHEESY, fine or showy. 

CHERUBS, or cherubims, the chorister boys who channt in the 

services at the abbeys. 

CHESHIRE CAT, " to grin like a Cheshire cat," to display 

the teeth and gums when laughing. Formerly the phrase 

was " to grin like a Cheshire cat eating cheese." A 

hardly satisfactory explanation has been given of this 

phrase—that Cheshire is a county palatine, and the cats,


when they think of it, are so tickled with the notion that 

they can't help grinning. 

CHICKEN, a young girl. 

CHICKEN-HEARTED, cowardly, fearful. 

CHI-IKE, a hurrah, a good word, or hearty praise. 

CHINK, money. Ancient.— See florio. 

CHINKERS, money. 

CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK, a child who resembles its father. 

Brother chip, one of the same trade or profession. 

CHIPS, money. 

CHISEL, to cheat. 

CHITTERLINGS, the shirt frills worn still by ancient beaux ; 

properly, the entrails of a pig, to which they are supposed 

to bear some resemblance. Belgian, schyterlingh. 

CHIVARLY, coition. Probably a corrupti6n from the Lingua 

Franca. 

CHIVE, a knife; a sharp tool of any kind. Old cant. This 

term is particularly applied to the tin knives used in gaols. 

CHIVE, to cut, saw, or file. 

CHIVE, or CHiVEY, a shout ; a halloo, or cheer, loud tongued. 

From CHEVY-CHASE, a boy's game, in which the word chevy 

is bawled aloud ; or from the Gipsey ?— See Introduction, 

CHIVE-FENCER, a street hawker of cutlery. 

CHIVEY, to chase round, or hunt about. 

CHOCK-FULL, full till the scale comes down with a shock. 

French, choc. A correspondent suggests choked-full. 

CHOKE OFF, to get rid of. Bull dogs can only be made to 

loose their hold by choking them. 

CHOKER, a cravat, a neckerchief, White-choker, the white 

neckerchief worn by mutes at a funeral, and waiters at a 

tavern. Clergymen are frequently termed white -chokers. 

CHOKER, or wind-stopper, a garrotter. 

CHONKEYS, a kind of mince meat baked in a crust, and sold 

in the streets. 

CHOP, to change.—OW. 

CHOPS, properly chaps, the mouth, or cheeks ; 

" down in the 

chops," or " down in the mouth," i.e., sad or melancholy. 

CHOUSE, to cheat out of one's share or portion. Hackluyt, 

CHAUS; Massinger, chiaus. From the Turkish, in which 

I 2


language ib signifies an interpreter. 

Gifford gives a curious 

story as to its origin : 

In the year 1609 there was attached to the Turkish embassy in 

England an interpreter, or chiaous, who by cnnning, aided by his 

ofiieial position, managed to cheat the Turkish and Persiaa 

merchants then in London out of the large sum of £4,000, then 

deemed an enormous amount. 

From the notoriety which attended 

the fraud, and the magnitude of the swindle, any one who 

cheated or defrauded was said to chiaous, or chav.se, or chousk ; 

to do, that is, as this Chiaous had done.—&« Trench, Eny. Font 

and Present, p. 87. 

CHOUT, an entertainment. 

CHOVEY, a shop. 

CHRISTENING, erasing the name of the maker from a stolen 

watch, and inserting a fictitious one in its place. 

CHUBBY, round-faced, plump. 

CHUCK, a schoolboy's treat.— Westminster school. Food, provision 

for an entertainment. Norwich. 

CHUCK, to throw or pitch. 

CHUCKING A JOLLY, when a costermonger praises the 

inferior article his mate or partner is trying to sell. 

CHUCKING A STALL, where one rogue walks in front of a 

person while another picks his pockets. 

CHUCKLE-HEAD, a iool—Devonshire. 

CHUFF IT, i.e., be off, or take it away, in answer to a street 

seller who is importuning you to purchase. Halliwdl 

mentions chuff as a " term of reproach," surly, &c. 

CHUM, an acquaintance. A recognised term, but in such frequent 

use with the lower orders that it demanded a place 

in this glossary. 

CHUM, to occupy a joint lodging with another person. 

CHUMMING-UP, an old custom amongst prisoners when a fresh 

culprit is admitted to their number, consisting of a noisy 

welcome—rough music made with pokers, tongs, sticks, and 

saucepans. For this ovation the initiated prisoner has to 

pay, or fork ovee, half a crown— or submit to a loss of 

coat and waistcoat. The practice is ancient. 

CHUMMY, a chimney sweep ; also a low-crowned felt hat. 

CHUNK, a thick or dumpy piece of any substance. Kentish. 

CHURCH A YACK (or watch), to take the works of a watch 

from its original case and put them into another one, to 

avoid detection. See christen. 

CHURCHWARDEN, a long pipe, " a yard of clay."


CLAGGUM, boiled treacle in a hardened state. Hardbake.— See 

CLIGGY. 

CLAP, to place ; "do you think you can clap your hand on 

him ?" i.e., find him out. 

CLAPPER, the tongue. 

CLAP-TRAP, high-sounding nonsense. 

An ancient Theatrical 

term for a " trap to catch a clap by way of applause from 

the spectators at a play." Bailey's Dictionary. 

CLARET, blood.—Pugilistic. 

CLEAN, quite, or entirely ; 

" clean gone," entirely out of sight, 

or away. Old, see Cofgrave.— Shakespere. 

CLEAN OUT, to thrash, or beat; to ruin, or bankrupt any one 

to take all they have got, by purchase, or force. De Quincey, 

in his article on " Richard Bentley," speaking of the lawsuit 

between that great scholar and Dr. Colbatch, remarks 

that the latter "must have been pretty well cleaned out." 

CLICK, knock, or blow. Click- handed, left-banded. Cornish. 

CLICK, to snatch. 

CLIFT, to steal. 

CLIGGY, or clidgy, sticky. Anglo Saxon, cljeg, clay. See 

CLAGGUM. 

CLINCHER, that which rivets or confirms an argument, an 

incontrovertible position. Metaphor from the workshop. 

CLINK-RIG, stealing tankards from public-houses, taverns, &c. 

CLIPPING, excellent, very good. 

CLOCK, " to know what's o'clock," a definition of knowingnesa 

in general. See time o'day. 

CLOD-HOPPER, a country clown. 

CLOUT, or RAG, a cotton pocket handkerchief. Old cant. 

CLOUT, a blow, or intentional strike. 

Ancient. 

CLOVER, happiness, or luck. 

CLUMP, to strike. 

CLY, a Tpocket.— Old cant for to steal. A correspondent derives 

this word from the Old English, cleyes, claws ; Anglo 

Saxon, CLEA. This pronunciation is still retained in Norfolk 

; thus, to CLY would mean to pounce upon, snatch. 

See FRISK. 

CLY-FAKER, a pickpocket. 

COACH, a Cambridge term for a private tutor.

118 A DICTIONAHY OP 

COACH WHEEL, or ttjsheroon, a crown piece, or five shillings. 

COALS, " to call (or puU) over the coals," to take to task, 

to scold. 

COCK, or more frequently now a days, cock-e-e, a vulgar 

street salutation—corruption of COCK-EYE. The latter is 

frequently heard as a shout or street cry after a man or boy. 

COCK AND A BULL STORY, a long, rambling anecdote.—See 

Notes and Qmries, vol. iv., p. 313. 

COCKCHAFER, the treadmill. 

COCK-EYE, one that squints. 

COCKLES, " to rejoice the cockles of one's heart," a vulgar 

phrase implying great pleasure. See pluck. 

COCKNEY, a native of London. Originally, a spoilt or effeminate 

boy, derived from cockering, or foolishly petting a 

person, rendering them of soft or luxurious manners. 

Halliwell states, in his admirable essay upon the word, that 

" some writers trace the word with much probability to the 

imaginary land of cockatgne, the lubber land of the olden 

times." Grose gives Minsheu's absurd but comical derivation 

citizen of London being in the country, and 

hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, "Lord! how that horse 

laughs." A bystander informed him that that noise waa 

called neighing. The next morning, when the cock crowed, 

the citizen, to show that he had not forgotten what waa 

told him, cried out, "do you hear how the cock neighs? '' 

COCK OF THE WALK, a master spirit, head of a party. 

Places 

where poultry are fed are called walks, and the barn-door 

cocks invariably fight for the supremacy till one has 

obtained it. 

COCKS, fictitious narratives, in verse or prose, of murders, fires, 

and terrible accidents, sold in the streets as true accounts. 

The man who hawks them, a patterer, often changes the 

scene of the awful event to suit the taste of the neighbourhood 

he is trying to delude. Possibly a corruption of coolc, 

a cooked statement, or, as a correspondent suggests, the 

cock lane Ghost may have given rise to the term. This 

had a great run, and was a rich harvest to the running 

stationers. 

COCK ONE'S TOES, to die. 

COCK ROBIN SHOP, a small printer's office, where low wages 

are paid to journeymen who have never served a regular 

apprenticeship.


COCKSHY, a game at fairs and races, where trinkets are set 

upon sticks, and for one penny three throws at them are 

accorded, the thrower keeping whatever he knocks off. From 

the ancient game of throwing or " shying " at live cocks. 

COCKSURE, certain. 

COCKY, pert, saucy. 

COCKYOLY BIRDS, little birds, frequently called " dickey 

birds." Kingsley'sTwo Years Ago. 

COCK, " to COCK your eye," to shut or wink one eye. 

COCUM, advantage, luck, cunning, or sly, " to fight cocum," to 

be wily and cautious. 

CODDS, the "poor brethren " of the Charter house. At p. ]33 

of the Newcomes, Mr. Thackeray writes, " The Cistercian 

lads call these old gentlemen codds,I know not wherefore." 

An abbreviation of codger. 

CODGER, an old man ; " a rum old codger," a curious old 

fellow. Codger is sometimes used synonymous with cadger, 

and then signifies a person who gets his living in a questionable 

manner. Cager, or gager, was the old cant term for 

a man. 

COFFEE-SHOP, a water-closet, or house of office. 

COG, to cheat at dice. Shakespere. Also, to agree with, as one 

cog-wheel does with another. 

COLD BLOOD, a house licensed for the sale of beer " not to be 

drunk on the premises." 

COLD COOK, an undertaker. 

COLD MEAT, a corpse. 

COLD SHOULDER, "to show or give any one the cold 

shoulder," to assume a distant manner towards them, 

to evince a desire to cease acquaintanceship. Sometimes it 

is termed "cold shoulder oi inutlon." 

COLLAR, " out of collar," i.e., out of place, no work. 

COLLAR, to seize, to lay hold of 

COLLY- WOBBLES, a stomach ache, a person's bowels,—supposed 

by many of the lower orders to be the seat of feelinsj 

and nutrition ; an idea either borrowed from, or transmitted 

by, the ancients. Devonshire. 

COLT'S TOOTH, elderly persons of juvenile tastes are said to 

have a colt's tooth. 

COMB-CUT, mortified, disgraced, " down on one's luck."— /See 

CUT.


COME, a slang verb used in many phrases; "A'nt he coMiNa 

IT ?" i.e., is he not proceeding at a great rate ? " Don't 

COME TRICKS here," " don't come the old soldier over 

me," i.e., we are aware of your practices, and " twig " your 

manoeuvre. Coming it strong, exaggerating, going a-head, 

the opposite of " drawing it mild." Coming it also means 

informing or disclosing. 

COME DOWN, to pay down. 

COMMISSION, a shirt. Ancient cant. Italian, camicia. 

COMMISTER, a chaplain or clergyman. 

COMMON SEWER, a drain, or drink. 

COMMONS, rations, because eaten in common. — Univertity. 

Short commons (derived from the University slang term), a 

scanty meal, a scarcity. 

CONK, a nose ; conky, having a projecting or remarkable nose. 

The Duke of Wellington was frequently termed " Old 

CONKT " in satirical papers and caricatures. 

CONSTABLE, " to overrun the constable," to exceed one's 

income, get deep in debt. 

CONVEY, to steal ; "convey, the wise it call." 

CONVEYA NCER, a pick-pocket. Shakespere uses the cant expression, 

CONVEYER, a thief. The same term is also French 

slang. 

COOK, a term well known in the Bankruptcy Courts, referring to 

accounts that have been meddled with, or cooked, by the 

bankrupt ; also the forming a balance sheet from general 

trade inferences ; stated by a correspondent to have been 

first used in reference to the celebrated alteration of the 

accounts of the Eastern Counties Railway, by George 

Hudson, the Railway King. 

COOK ONE'S GOOSE, to kill or ruin any person.—North. 

COOLIE, a soldier, in allusion to the Hindoo coolies, or day 

labourers. 

COON, abbreviation of Racoon. American. A gone coon— ditto, 

one in an awful fix, past praying for. This expression is 

said to have originated in the American war with a spy, who 

dressed himself in a racoon skin, and ensconced himself in a 

tree. An English rifleman taking him for a veritable coon 

levelled his piece at him, upon which he exclaimed, "Don't 

shoot, I'll come down of myself, I know I'm a gone coon." 

The Yankees say the Britisher was so flummuxed, that he 

flung down his rifle and "made tracks" for home. The 

phrase is pretty usual in England.


COOPER, stout half-and-half, i.e., half stout and half porter. 

COOPER, to destroy, spoil, settle, or finish. Cooper'd, spoilt, 

" done up," synonymous with the Americanism, oaved in, 

falleu in and ruined. The vagabonds' hieroglyphic V, 

chalked by them on gate posts and houses, signifies that the 

place has been spoilt by too many tramps calling there. 

COOPER, to forge, or imitate in writing; " cooper a moneker," 

to forge a signature. 

COP, to seize or lay hold of anything unpleasant ; used in a 

similar sense to catch in the phrase " to cop (or catch) a 

beating," " to get copt." 

COPER, properly horse-coupeb, a Scotch horse dealer,—used to 

denote a dishonest one. 

COPPER, a policeman, i.e., one who cops, which see. 

COPPER, a penoy. Coppers, mixed pence. 

COPUS, a Cambridge drink, consisting of ale combined with 

Bpices, and varied by spirits, wines, &c. Corruption of 

HIPPOCBAS. 

CORINTHIANISM, a term derived from the classics, much in 

vogue some years ago, implying pugilism, high life, " sprees," 

roistering, &c. Shakespere. The immorality of Corinth was 

proverbial in Greece. KopivQiaZ taQai, to Connthianise, 

indulge in the company of courtesans, was a Greek slang expression. 

Hence the proverb 

Ov TravTot avSpbs ds Kopivdoi' tcrfl' o ttXowj, 

and Horace, Epist. lib. 1, xvii. 36 

Non cuivis hotnini contingit adire Corinthnm, 

in allusion to the spoliation practised by the " hetserae " on 

those who visited them. 

CORK, " to draw a cork," to give a bloody nose. Pugilistic. 

CORKS, money " 

; how are you off for corks ?" a soldier's term 

of a very expressive kind, denoting the means of " keeping 

afloat." 

CORNED, drunk or intoxicated. 

Possibly from soaking or pickling 

oneself like corned beef. 

CORNERED, hemmed in a corner, placed 

which there is no escape. — American. 

in a position from 

CORPORATION, the protuberant front of an obese person. 

CORPSE, to confuse or put out the actors by making a mistake. 

— Theatrical. 

COSSACK, a policeman.


COSTERMONGERS, street sellers of fish, fruit, vegetables, 

poultry, &c. The London costermongers number more than 

30,000. They form a distinct class, occupying whole 

neighbourhoods, and are cut off from the rest of metropolitan 

society by their low habits, general improvidence, 

pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard 

for lawful marriage ceremonies, and their use of a 

cant (or so-called hade slanrj) language. 

COSTER, the short and slang term for a costermonger, or 

costard monger, who was originally an apple seller, Coster- 

ING, i.e., costermongering. 

COTTON, to like, adhere to, or agree with any person ; "to 

COTTON on to a man," to attach yourself to him, or fancy 

him, literally, to stick to him as cotton would. Vide Bartlett, 

who claims it as an Americanism ; and Halliwell, who 

terms it an Archaism ; also Bacchus and Venus, 1737. 

COUNCIL OF TEN, the toes of a man who turns his feet inward. 

COUNTER JUMPER, a shopman, a draper's assistant. 

COUNTY-CROP {i.e., county-prison crop), hair cut close and 

round, as if guided by a basin—an indication of having 

been in prison. 

COUTER, a sovereign. Half-a-couter, half-a-sovereign. 

COVE, or COVET, a boy or man of any age or station. A term 

generally preceded by an expressive adjective, thus a " flash 

COVE," a " rum cove," a " downy cove," &c. The feminine, 

COVESS, was once popular, but it has fallen into disuse. 

Ancient cant, originally (temp. Henry VIII.) cofe, or 

CTJFFiN, altered in Declcer's time to cove. Probably connected 

with cuiF, which, in the North of England, signifies 

a lout or awkward fellow. Amongst Negroes, cuffek. 

COVENTRY, " to send a man to Coventry," not to speak to or 

notice him. 

Coventry was one of those towns in which the 

privilege of practising most trades was anciently confined to 

certain privileged persons, as the freemen, &c. Hence a 

stranger stood little chance of custom, or countenance, and 

" to send a man to COVENTRY," came to be equivalent to 

putting him out of the pale of society. 

COVER-DOWN, a tossing coin with a false covei-, enabling 

either head or tail to be shown, according as the cover is 

left on or taken off. 

COWAN, a sneak, an inquisitive or prying person.—iJfcMomic 

term. Greek, kvu>v, a dog.

MODERN SLANO AND CANT WORDS. 123 

COW'S GREASE, butter. 

COW-LICK, the term given to the lock of hair which costermongers 

and thieves usually twist forward from the ear ; 

a 

large greasy curl upon the cheek, seemingly licked into 

shape. The opposite of newgate-knocker, which see. 

COXY-LOXY, good-tempered, drnnk.—Norfolk. 

CRAB, or GRAB, a disagreeable old person. Name of a wild 

and sour fruit. " To catch a crab," to fall backwards by 

missing a stroke in rowing. 

CRAB, to offend, or insult ; to expose or defeat a robbery, to 

inform against. 

CRABSHELLS, or trotting cases, shoes. See carts. 

CRACK, first-rate, excellent; "a crack hand," an adept ; a 

"crack article," a good one. Old. 

CRACK, dry firewood. Modern Gipsey. 

CRACK, " in a crack (of the finger and thumb)," in a moment. 

CRACK A BOTTLE, to drink, Shakespere uses crush in the 

same slang sense. 

CRACK A KIRK, to break into a church or chapel. 

CRACK-FENCER, a man who seUs nuts. 

CRACK- UP, to boast or praise.—J wciejii English. 

CRACKED-UP, penniless, or ruined. 

CRACKSMAN, a burglar. 

CRAM, to lie or deceive, implying to fill up or cram a person 

with false stories; to acquire learning quickly, to "grind" 

or prepare for an examination. 

CRAMMER, a lie ; or a person who commits a falsehood. 

CRANKY, foolish, idiotic, ricketty, capricious, not confined to 

persons. .4 ncieni ca»


CRIB BITER, an inveterate gi'umbler ; 

properly said of a horse 

which has this habit, a sign of its bad digestion. 

CRIBBAGE FACED, marked with the small pox, full of holes 

like a cribbage board. 

CRIKEY, profane exclamation of astonishment " 

; Oh, crikey, 

you don't say so !" corruption of " Oh, Christ." 

CRIMPS, men who trepan others into the clutches of the recruiting 

sergeant. Tbey generally pretend to give employment 

in the colonies, and in that manner cheat those 

mechanics who are half famished. Nearly obsolete. 

CRIPPLE, a bent sixpence. 

CROAK, to die—from the gurgling sound a person makes when 

the breath of life is departing. Oxon. 

CROAKER, one 

an alarmist. 

who takes a desponding view of everything ; 

From the croaking of a raven.— Ben Jonson. 

CROAKER, a beggar, 

CROAKER, a corpse, or dying person beyond hope. 

CROAKS, last dying speeches, and murderers' confessions. 

CROCODILES' TEARS, the tears of a hypocrite. An ancient 

phrase, introduced into this country by Mandeville, or other 

early English traveller. Othello, iv., 1. 

CROCUS, or CROAKUS, a quack or travelling doctor ; CROCCS- 

CHOVEY, a chemist's shop. 

CRONY, a termagant or malicious old woman; an intimate 

friend. Johnson calls it cant. 

CROOKY, to hang on to, to lead, walk arm-in-arm ; to court or 

pay addresses to a girL 

CROPPIE, a person who has had his hair cut, or cropped, in 

prison. 

CROPPED, hanged. 

CROSS, a general term amongst thieves expressive of their 

plundering profession, the opposite of square. " To get 

anything on the cross" is to obtain it surreptitiously. 

" Cross-fanning in a crowd," robbing pei-sons of their scarf 

pins. 

CROSS COVE and MOLLISHER, a man and woman who live 

by thieving. 

CROSS-CRIB, a house frequented by thieves. 

CROW, one who watches whilst another commits a theft, a confederate 

in a robbery. The crow looks to see that the way


is clear, whilst the sneak, his partner, commits the depredation. 

CROW, "a regular crow," a success, a stroke of luck,—equivalent 

to a FLUKB. 

CROW, "I have a crow to pick with you," i.e., an explanation 

to demand, a disagreeable matter to settle ; 

" to cocK-CROw 

over a person," to exalt over his abasement or misfortune. 

CRUG, food.—Household Words, No. 183. 

CRUMBS, " to pick up one's crumbs," to begin to Lave an 

appetite after an illness; to improve in health, circumstances, 

&c., after a loss thereof. 

CRUMMY, fat, plump.—iVorÂ. 

CRUMMY-DOSS, a lousy or filthy bed. 

CRUNCH, to crush. Corruption ; or, perhaps from the sound 

of teeth grinding against each other. 

CRUSHER, a policeman. 

CRUSHING, excellent, first rate. 

CRUSTY, ill tempered, petulant, morose. Old. 

CULL, a man or boy. Old cant. 

CULLING, or culing, stealing from the carnages on racecourses. 

CUPBOARD HEADED, an expressive designation of one whose 

head is both wooden and hollow. Norfolk. 

CURE, an odd person ; a contemptuous term, abridged from 

CURIOSITY—which was formerly the favourite expression. 

—Compare stipe. 

CURSE OF SCOTLAND, the Nine of Diamonds. Various 

hypotheses have been set up as to this appellation— that it 

was the card on which the " Butcher Duke" wrote a cruel 

order with respect to the rebels after the battle of Cullodeu 

that the diamonds are the nine lozenges in the arms of 

Dalrymple, Earl of Srair, detested for his share in the 

Massacre of Glencoe; that it is a corruption of Cross of 

Scotland, the nine diamonds being arranged somewhat after 

the fashion of a St. Andrew's Cross ; 

but the most probable 

explanation is, that in the game of Pope Joan the nine of 

diamonds is the pope, of whom the Scotch have an especial 

horror. 

CURTAIL, to cut off. Originally a cant word, vide Iludibras, 

and Bacchus and Venus, 1737. 

CUSHION THUMPER, polite rendering of tub thumper, a 

clergyman, a preacher.


" a rum cus- 

CUSTOMER, synonymous with chap, a fellow ; 

tomer," i. e., an odd fish, or curious person. Skakespere. 

CUSTOMHOUSE OFFICER, an aperient pill. 

CUT, to run away, move off quickly ; to cease doing anything 

CUT AND RUN, to quit woi'k, or occupation, and start off at 

once ; to cut didoes, synonymous with to cut capers ; cut 

A DASH, make a show ; CUT A CAPER, to dance or show off 

in a strange manner ; cut a figure, to make either a good 

or bad appearance ; cut out, to excel, thus in affairs of 

gallantry one Adonis is said to " ctit the other out" in the 

affections of the wished for lady ; cut that ! be quiet, or 

stop; cut out of, done out of; cut of one's gib, the 

expression or cast of his countenance [see gib] ; to cut 

ONE'S COMB, to take down a conceited person, from the 

practice of cutting the combs of capons [see comb-cut] ; 

CUT AND come AGAIN, plenty, if one cut does not suffice, 

plenty remains to " come again ;" cut up, mortified, to 

criticise severely, or expose ; cut up shines, to play tricks ; 

cut one's stick, to be off quickly, i. e., be in readiness for a 

journey, further elaborated into amputate tour mahogany 

[see Stick] ; cut it fat, to exaggerate or show off in an 

extensive manner ; to cut up fat, to die, leaving a large 

property ; CUT under, to undersell ; CUT tour LUCKY, to 

run off; cut one's cart, to expose their tricks ; cut an 

ACQUAINTANCE, to cease fiiendly intercourse with them 

Cambridge. Old ; cutte, to say. 

CUT, in theatrical language, means to strike out portions of a 

dramatic piece, so as to render it shorter for representation. 

A late treasurer of one of the so called Patent Theatres, 

when asked his opinion of a new play, always gave utterance 

to the brief, but safe piece of criticism, "wants 

CUTTING." 

CUT, ti-paej.—Household Words, No. 183. 

CUT, to compete in business. 

CUT-THROAT, a butcher, a cattle slaughterer ; a ruffian. 

CUTE, sharp, cunning. Abbreviation of acute. 

CUTTER, a ruffian, a cut purse. Of Robin Hood it was said 

" So being outlawed (as 'tis told). 

He with a crew went forth 

Of lusty CUTIKB8, bold and strong, 

And robbed in the north." 

This ancient cant word now survives in the phrase, "to 

swear like a cutter."

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WOEDS. 127 

CUTTY PIPE, a short clay pipe. Scotch, cutty, short. CuttysarTc, 

a scantily draped lady is so called by Burns. 

DAB, or DABSTER, an expert person. Johnson says, " in low 

language, an artist." 

DAB, a bed. 

DAB, street term for a flat fish of any kind. Old. 

DACHA-SALTEE, tenpence . Probably fro in the Lingua Franca. 

Modern Greek, SeKa ; Italian, dieci soldi, tenpence; Gipsey, 

DIK, ten. So also dacha-one, i.e., dieci uno, elevenpence. 

See SALTEE. 

DADDLES, hands " 

; tip us your daddles, i. e., shake hands. 

DADDY, the stage manager. Theatrical. Also the person who 

gives away the bride at weddings. 

DAGS, feat or performance ; 

" I'll do your dags," i.e., I will do 

something that you cannot do. 

DAISY CUTTER, a horse which trots or gallops without 

lifting its feet much from the ground. 

DAISY KICKERS, the name hostlers at large inns used to give 

Daisy-kicker, or grog- 

each other, now nearly obsolete. 

ham, was likewise the cant term for a horse. 

The DAISY-KICKEHS Were sad rogues in the old postingdays; 

frequently the landlords rented the stables to them, 

as the only plan to make them return a profit. 

DAMPER, a shop till ; to draw a damper, i.e., rob a till. 

DANCE UPON NOTHING, to be hanged. 

DANCERS, ata.irs.—Old cant. 

DANDER, passion, or temper " 

; to get one's DANDER up," to 

rouse his passion. Old. 

DANDY, a fop, or fashionable nondescript. This word, in the 

sense of a fop, is of modern origin. Egan says it was first 

used in 1820, and Bee in 1816. Johnson does not mention 

it, although it is to be found in all late dictionaries. 

Dandies wore stays, studied feminity, and tried to undo 

their manhood. Lord Petersham headed them. At the 

present day dandies of this stamp are fast disappearing. 

The feminine of dandy was dandizette, but the term only 

lived for a short season. 

DANDYPRAT, a funny little fellow, a mannikin ; originally a 

half- farthing. 

DANNA, excrement ; danna drag, a nightman's or dustman's 

cart.


DARBIES, handcuffs.—OM cant. 

DARBLE, the devil. French, diable. 

DARK, " keep it dark," i.e., secret. Dark horse, in racing 

phraseology a horse whose chance of success is unknown, 

and whose capabilities have not been made the subject of 

comment. 

DARKEY, twilight. Darkmaxs, the night. 

DARN, vulgar corruption of d n. American. 

DASHING, showy, fast. 

DAVID'S SOW, ''as drunk as David's sow," i.e., beastly druuk. 

— See origin of the phi-ase in Grose's Dictionary. 

DAVY, " on my davy," on my affidavit, of which it is a vulgar 

corruption. Latterly davy has become synonymous in 

street, language with the name of the Deity " 

; so help 

me DAVY," slang rendering of the conclusion of the oath 

usually exacted of witnesses. 

DAVY'S LOCKER, or davy jones' locker, the sea, the common 

receptacle for all things thrown overboard ;—a nautical 

phrase for death, the other world. 

DAWDLE, to loitei", or fritter away time. 

DAYLIGHTS, eyes; "to darken his daylights," to give a 

person black eyes. 

DEAD ALIVE, stupid, dull. 

DEAD HORSE, " to draw the dead horse," dead-horse work, 

—working for wages already paid ; also any thankless or 

unassisted service. 

DEAD-LURK, entering a dwelling-house daring divine service. 

DEAD MEN, the term for wine bottles after they are emptied 

of their contents. Old.— See marines. 

DEAD-SET, a pointed attack on a person. 

DEANER, a shilling. Provincial Qipsey, deanee, a pound. 

DEATH, " to dress to death," i.e., to the very extreme of 

fashion, perhaps so as to be killing. 

DEATH-HUNTERS, running patterers, who vend last dying 

speeches and confessions. 

DECK, a pack of cards. Old. Used by Bulwer as a cant term. 

General in the United States. 

DEE, a pocket book, term used by tramps. Gipsey. 

DEMIREP (or rip), a courtesan. Contraction of demireputation— 

Grose.


DESPATCHES, false " dice with two sides, double four, double 

five, and double six." Times, 27th November, 1856. 

DEUCE, the devil. Old. Stated by Junius and others to be 

from DEXJS. 

DEUCE, twopence; deuce at cards or dice, one with two pips 

or holes. 

DEVIL, a printer's youngest apprentice, an errand boy. 

DEVIL-DODGERS, clergymen ; also people who go sometimes 

to church and sometimes to meeting. 

DEVIL'S TEETH, dice. 

DEVOTIONAL HABITS, horses weak in the knees and apt to 

stumble and fall are said to have these. Stable. 

DEWSKITCH, a good thrashing. 

DIBBS, money ; so called from the huckle bones of sheep, which 

have been used from the earliest times for gambling purposes, 

being thrown up five at a time and caught on the 

back of the hand like halfpence. 

DICKEY, bad, sorry, or foolish ; food or lodging is pronounced 

DICKEY when of a poor description; "it's all dickey with 

him," i.e., all over with him. 

DICKEY, formerly the cant for a worn out shirt, but means 

now-a-days a front or halfshii't. Dickey was originally 

TOMMY (from the Greek, TOfXT], a section), a name which I 

understand was formerly used in Trinity College, Dublin. 

The students are said to have invented the term, and the 

Gyps changed it to dickey, in which dress it is supposed to 

have been imported into England. 

DICKEY, a donkey. 

DICKENS, synonymous with devil " 

; what the dickens are you 

after ?" what the d—1 are you doing ? Used by Shakespere 

in the Merry Wives of Windsor. 

DIDDLE, to cheat, or defraud.— OW. 

DIDDLE, old cant word for geneva, or gin. 

DIDDLER, or JEREMY diddler, an artful swindler 

DIDOES, pranks or capers; " to cut up didoes," to make pranks. 

DIES, last dying speeches, and criminal trials. 

DIGS, hard blows. 

DIGGERS, spurs ; also the spades on cards. 

DIGGINGS, lodgings, apartments, residence; an expression 

probably imported from California, or Australia, with 

reference to the gold diggings. 

K

130 A DICTIONAEY OF 

DILLY DALLY, to trifle. 

DIMBER, neat or pretty.— Worcestershire, but old cant. 

DIMBER DAMBER, very pretty ; 

a clever rogue who excels his 

fellows ; chief of a gang. Old cant in the latter sense. 

English Rogue. 

DIMMOCK, money ; 

" how are you off for dimmock ?" diminutive 

of DIME, a small foreign silver coin. 

DINARLY, money ; " nantee dixably," I have no money, 

corrupted from the Lingua Franca, " niente dinabo," not 

a penny. Turkish, dinaei ; Spanish, dinebo ; Latin, denabius. 

DING, to strike ; to throw away, or get rid of anything ; to pass 

to a confederate. 

DIPPED, moTig&gedi.—Household Words, No. 183. 

DISGUISED, inio-sicziQA.—Household Words, No. 183. 

DISH, to stop, to do away with, to suppress ; dished, done for, 

floored, beaten, or silenced. A correspondent suggests that 

meat is usually done bbown before being dished, and 

conceives that the latter term may have arisen as the 

natural sequence of the former. 

DISHABBILLY, the ridiculous corruption of the French, 

DESHABILLE, amongst fashionably affected, but ignorant 

" stuck-up " people, 

DITHERS, nervous or cold shiverings. "It gave me the 

DITHEES." 

DIVE, to pick pockets. 

DIVERS, pickpockets. 

DO, this useful and industrious verb has for many years done 

service as a slang term. To do a person is to cheat him. 

Sometimes another tense is employed, such as " I done him," 

meaning I cheated or " paid him out ;" done bbown, cheated 

thoroughly, befooled ; done oveb, upset, cheated, knocked 

down, ruined ; done rp, used up, finished, or quieted. 

Done also means convicted, or sentenced ; so does donefoe. 

To do a person in pugilism is to excel him in fisticuffs. 

Humphreys, who fought Mendoza, a Jew, wrote this laconic 

note to his supporter— " Sir,—I have done the Jew, and am 

in good health. Rich. Humphreys." Tourists use the expression 

" I have DONE France and Italy," meaning I have 

completely explored those countries. 

DOCTOR, to adulterate or drug liquor ; also to falsify accounts. 

— See COOK.


DODGE, a cunning trick. " Dodge, that homely but expressive 

phrase." Sir Hugh Cairns on the Reform Bill, 2nd March, 

1859. Anglo Saxon, deoqian, to colour, to conceal. The 

TIDY DODGE, as it is Called by street-folk, consists in dressing 

up a family clean and tidy, and parading the streets to excite 

compassion and obtain alms. A cori'espondent suggests 

that the verb dodge may have been formed (like wench 

from winl:) from dog, i.e., to double quickly and unexpectedly, 

as in coursing. 

DODGER, a tricky person, or one who, to use the popular 

phrase, " knows too much." See devil-dodger. 

DODGER, a dram. In Kent, a dodger signifies a nightcap 

which name is often given to the last dram at night. 

DOG, to follow in one's footsteps on the sly, to track. 

DOG-CHEAP, or dog-foolish, very, or singularly cheap, or 

foolish. Latham, in his English Language, says:— "This 

has nothing to do with dogs. The first syllable is god = 

good transposed, and the second, the ch*— p, is chapman, 

merchant : compare eastcheap."— Old term. 

DOG-LATIIf, barbarous Latin, such as was formerly used by 

lawyers in their pleadings. 

DOG-ON-IT, a form of mild swearing used by boys. It is just 

worthy of mention that dogone, in Anglo-Norman, is 

equivalent to a term of contempt. Friesic, dogeniet. 

DOGSNOSE, gin and beer, so called from the mixture being 

cold, like a dog's nose. 

DOLDRUMS, difficulties, low spirits, dumps.— -Sea. 

DOLLOP, a lump or portion. Norfolk. Ang. Sax. dael, dole. 

DOLLOP, to dole up, give up a share. lb. 

DOLLYMOP, a tawdrily-dressed maid servant, a street walker. 

DOLLY SHOP, an illegal pawnshop,—where goods, or stolen 

propei-ty, not good enough for the pawnbroker, are received, 

and charged at so much per day. If not redeemed the third 

day the goods are forfeited. Anglo Saxon, dael, a part,—to 

dole ?—.ê nix. A correspondent thinks it may have been 

derived from the black doll, the usual sign of a rag shop. 

DOMINE, a parson. 

DOMINOS, the teeth. 

DON, a clever fellow, the opposite of a muff; a person of distinction 

in his line or walk. At the Universities, the Masters 

and Fellows are the dons. Don is also used as an adjective, 

" a don hand at a knife and fork," i.e., a first-rate feeder at 

a dinner table. 

Spanisli. 

K 2


DONE FOR A RAMP, convicted for thieving. 

DONKEY, "three more and up goes the donkey," a vulgar 

street phrase for extracting as much money as possible before 

performing any task. The phrase had its origin with a 

travelling showman, the finale of whose performance was 

the hoisting of a donkey on a pole or ladder ; but this consummation 

was never arrived at unless the required number 

of "browns" was first paid up, and "three more" was 

generally the unfortunate deficit. 

DONNA AND FEELES, a woman and children. Italian or 

Lingua Franca, donne e figlie. 

DOOKIN, fortune telling. Gipsey, dukkerin. 

DOSE, three months' imprisonment as a known thief See 

BRAGGADOCIO. 

DOSS, a bed. North. Probably from doze. Mayhew thinks it 

is from the Norman, dossel, a hanging, or bed canopy. 

DOSS, to sleep, formerly spelt dorse. 

Perhaps from the phrase 

to lie on one's dorsum, back. 

DOSS-KEN, a lodging house. 

DOUBLE, " to tip (or give) the double," to run away from any 

person ; to double back, turn short round upon one's pursuers 

and so escape, as a hare does. Sporting. 

DOUBLE -UP, to pair off, or "chum," with another man; to 

beat severely. 

DOUBLE-SHUFFLE, a low, shuffling, noisy dance, common 

amongst costermongers. See flip-flaps. 

DOUSE, to put out ; 

" douse that glim," put out that candle. 

Sea. 

DOWD, a woman's nightcap. Devonshire; also an American 

term; possibly from dowdy, a slatternly woman. 

DOWN, to be aware of, or awake to, any move—in this meaning, 

synonymous with up ; 

" down upon one's luck," unfortunate; 

"down ia the mouth," disconsolate; "to be down 

on one," to treat him harshly or suspiciously, to pounce 

upon him, or detect his tricks. 

DOWN THE DOLLY, a favourite gambling contrivance, often 

seen in the tap rooms of public houses, at race-courses, and • 

fairs, consisting of a round board and the figure of an old 

man or " doll," down which is a spiral hole. A marble is 

dropped " down the dolly," and stops in one of the small 

holes or pits (numbered) on the board. The bet is decided 

according as the mai-ble stops on a high or low figure.


DOWN THE ROAD, stylish, showy, after the fashion. 

DOWNER, a sixpence; apparently the Gipsey word, tawno, 

"little one," in course of metamorphosis into the more 

usual "tanner." 

DOWNS, Tothill Fields' prison. 

DOWNY, knowing or cunning; "a downy covk," a knowing or 

experienced sharper. 

DOWRY, a lot, a great deal ; 

" dowry of parny," lot of rain or 

water. See parny. Probably from the Gipsey. 

DOXY, the female companion of a thief or beggar. In the West 

of England, the women frequently call their little girla 

DOXIES, in a familiar or endearing sense. A learned divine 

once described orthodoxy as being a man's own doxy, and 

heterodoxy another man's doxy.— Ancient cant. 

DRAB, a vulgar or low woman. Shahespere. 

DRAG, a cart of any kind, a coach; gentlemen drive to the 

races in drags. 

DRAG, a street, or road ; back-drag, back-street. 

DRAG, or three moon, three months in prison. 

DRAGGING, robbing carts, &c. 

DRAGSMEN, fellows who cut trunks from the backs of carriages. 

They sometimes have a light cart, and "drop 

behind" the plundered vehicle, and then drive ofif in an 

opposite direction with the booty. 

DRAIN, a drink ; 

" to do a drain," to take a friendly drink 

" do a wet;" sometimes called a common sewer. 

DRAW, " come, draw it mild " ! i.e., don't exaggerate ; opposite 

of " come it strong." From the phraseology of the bar 

(of a public), where customers desire the beer to be drawn 

mild. 

DRAWERS, formerly the ancient cant name for very long 

stockings, now a hosier's term. 

DRAWING TEETH, wrenching oflF knockers. 

DRIVE- AT, to aim at; "what is he deivingat?" what does 

he intend to imply ?" a phrase often used when a circuitous 

line of argument is 

adopted by a barrister, or a strange set 

of questions asked, the purpose of which is not very evident. 

DRIVE, a term used by tradesmen in speaking of business 

" he's DRIVING a roaring trade," i.e., a very good one 

hence, to succeed in a bargain, " I drove a good bargain," 

i.e.y got the best end of it.


DBIZ, lace. In a low lodinng house this singular autograph 

inscription appeared over the mantelpiece, " Scotch Mary, 

•with DRiz (lace), bound to Dover and back, please God." 

DRIZ FENCER, a person who sells lace. 

DROP, to quit, go ofiF, or turn aside ; 

" deop the main Toby," 

go off the main road. 

DROP, "to DEOP INTO a person," to give him a thrashing. See 

SLIP and WALK. "To drop on to a man," to accuse or 

rebuke him suddenly. 

DRUM, a house, a lodging, a street ; hazabd-DRUM, a gambling 

house ; flash-dkum, a house of ill-fame. 

DRUMMER, a robber who first makes his victims insensible by 

drugs or violence, and then plunders them. 

DUB, to pay or give ; 

" dub up," pay up. 

DUBBER, the mouth ; "mum your dubber," hold your tongue. 

DUBLIN PACKET, to turn a comer; to "take the DUBLIN 

PACKET," viz., run round the corner. 

DUBS, a bunch of keys. Nearly obsolete. 

DUBSMAN, or screw, a turnkey. 

DUCKS AND DRAKES, " to make ducks and drakes of one's 

money," to throw it away childishly,—derived from children 

" shying" flat stones on the surface of a pool, which they 

call DUCKS AND DRAKES, according to the number of skips 

they make. 

DUDDERS, or dudsmen, persons who formerly travelled the 

country as pedlars, selling gown-pieces, silk waistcoats, &c., 

to countrymen. In selling a waistcoat-piece for thirty 

shillings or two pounds, which cost them perhaps five 

shillings, they would show great fear of the revenue officer, 

and beg of the purchasing clodhopper to kneel down in a 

puddle of water, crook his arm, and swear that it might 

never become straight if he told an exciseman, or even his 

own wife. The term and practice are nearly obsolete. In 

Liverpool, however, and at the east end of London, men 

dressed up as sailors, with pretended silk handkerchiefs and 

cigars " only just smuggled from the Indies," are scill to be 

plentifully found. 

DUDDS, clothes, or personal property, Gaelic, dud; Ancient 

cant; also Dutch. 

DUFF, pudding; vulgar pronunciation of dough.— Sea. 

DUFFER, a hawker of " Brummagem" or sham jewellery ; a 

Bham of any kind ; a fool, or worthless person. Duffer


was formerly synonymous with dudder, and was a general 

term given to pedlars. It is mentioned in the Frauds of 

London (1760), as a word in frequent use in the last 

century to express cheats of all kinds. From the German, 

DURFEN, to want ? 

DUFFING, false, counterfeit, worthless. 

DUKE, gin.—Household Words, No. 183. 

DUMB-FOUND, to perplex, to beat soundly till not able to 

speak. Originally a cant word. Johnson cites the Spectator 

for the earliest use. Scotch, dumfounder. 

DUMMACKER, a knowing or acute person. 

DUMMIES, empty bottles and drawers in an apothecary's shop, 

labelled so as to give an idea of an extensive stock. 

DUMMY, in three-handed whist the person who holds two 

hands plays dummy. 

DUMMY, a pocket book. 

DUMP FENCER, a man who sells buttons. 

DUMPY, short and stout. 

DUMPISH, sullen, or glumpy. 

DUN, to solicit payment. Old cant, from the French donnez, 

give ; or from joe dun, the famous bailiff of Lincoln ; or 

simply a conniption of din, from the Anglo Saxon dunan, 

to clamour ? 

DUNAKER, a stealer of cows or calves Nearly obsolete. 

DUNDERHEAD, a blockhead. 

DUNG, an operative who works for an employer who does not 

give full or " society" wages. 

DUNNAGE, baggage, clothes. Also, a Sea term for wood or 

loose faggots laid at the bottom of ships, upon which is 

placed the cargo. 

DUNNY-KEN, a water-closet.—5fee ken. 

DURRYNACKING, offering lace or any other article as an 

introduction to fortune-telling ; 

generally pursued by 

women. 

DUST, money ; 

" down with the dust," put down the money. 

— Ancient. Dean Swift once took for his text, " He who 

giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." His sermon was 

short. " Now, my brethren," said he, "if you are satisfied 

with the security, down with the dust." 

DUST, a disturbance, or noise, " to raise a dust," to make a row. 

DUTCH CONSOLATION, "thank God it is no worse."


DUTCH COXCERT, where each performer plays a different 

tune. 

DUTCH COURAGE, false courage, generally excited by drink,— 

pot -valour. 

DUTCH FEAST, where the host gets drunk before his guest. 

DUTCH UNCLE, a personage often introduced in conversation, 

but exceedingly difficult to describe ; 

" I'll talk to him like 

a DUTCH UNCLE !" conveys the notion of anything but a 

desirable relation. A mericanism. 

DOUBLE DUTCH, gibberish, or any foreign tongue. 

EARL OF CORK, the ace of diamonds. Hihernicism. 

" What do you mean by the Earl of Cork ?" asked Mr. Squander. 

"The ace of diamonds, your honour. It's the worst ace, and 

the poorest card in the pack, and is called the Earl of Cork, because 

he's the poorest nobleman in Ireland." Carleton's Traitt 

and Stories uj' the Irish Peaaantri/. 

EARWIG, a clergyman, also one who prompts another maliciously. 

EARWIGGING, a rebuke in private ; 

EASE, to rob ; 

EGG, or egg od, to 

" easing a bloak," robbing a man. 

a wigging is more public. 

excite, stimulate, or provoke one person to 

quarrel with another, &c. Cor. of edge, or edge on.— Ancient. 

ELBOW, " to shake one's elbow," to play at cards. 

ELBOW GREASE, labour, or industty. 

ELEPHANT, " to have seen the elephant," to be " up to the 

latest move," or "down to the last new trick;" to be 

knowing, and not " green," &c. Possibly a metaphor taken 

from the travelling menageries, where the elephant is the 

finale of the exhibition. — Originally an Americanism. 

Bartlett gives conflicting examples. General now, however. 

EVAPORATE, to go, or run away. 

EVERLASTING STAIRCASE, the treadmill. Sometimes 

called " Colonel Chesterton's everlasting staircase," from 

the gallant inventor or improver. 

EXTENSIVE, frequently applied in a slang sense to a person's 

appearance or talk ; 

" rather extensive that !" intimating 

that the person alluded to is showing off, or " cutting it fet." 

EYE WATER, gin. 

FAD, a hobby, a &vourite pursuit. 

FADGE, a farthing. 

FADGE, to suit or fit ; "it won't fadge," it will not do. Used 

by SJiakespere, but now heard only in the streets.


FAG, to beat, also one boy working for another at school. 

FAG, a schoolboy who performs a servant's offices to a superior 

school-mate. Grose thinks fagged out is derived from this. 

FAGOT, a teiin of opprobrinm used by low people to children ; 

" you little fagot, you !" Fagot was originally a term of 

contempt for a dry, shrivelled old woman, whose bones were 

like a bundle of sticks, only fit to burn.—Compare the 

French expression for a heretic, sentir le fagot. 

FAKE, to cheat, or swindle; to do anything; to go on, or continue; 

to make or construct; to steal, or rob,—a verb 

variously used. Faked, done, or done for " 

; fake away, 

there's no down," go on, there is nobody looking. Mayhew 

says it is from the Latin, facimentom. 

FAKEMENT, a false begging petition, any act of robbery, 

swindling, or deception. 

FAKEMENT CHARLEY, the owner's private mark. 

FAKER, one who makes or fakes anything. 

FAKING A CLY, picking a pocket. 

FAMBLES, or famms, the hands. Ancient cant, German, 

FAUGEN. 

FAMILY MEN, or people, thieves, or burglars. 

FAN, a waistcoat. 

FANCY, the favourite sports, pets, or pastime of a person, the 

tan of low life. Pugilists are sometimes termed the fancy. 

ShaJcespere uses the word in the sense of a favourite, or pet 

and the paramour of a prostitute is still called her fancyman. 

FANCY-BLOAK, a fancy or sporting man. 

FAN-TAIL, a dustman's hat. 

FAST, gay, spreeish, unsteady, thoughtless,—an Americanism 

that has of late ascended from the streets to the drawingroom. 

The word has certainly now a distinct meaning, 

which it had not thirty years ago. Quick is the synonyme 

for fast, but a quick man would not convey the meaning of 

a FAST MAN,—a person who by late hours, gaiety, and continual 

rounds of pleasure, lives too fast and wears himself 

out. In polite society a fast young lady is one who afiects 

mannish habits, or makes herself conspicuous by some unfeminine 

accomplishment,—talks slang, drives about in 

London, smokes cigarettes, is knowing in dogs, horses, &c. 

An amusing anecdote is told of a fast young lady, the 

daughter of a right reverend prelate, who was an adept in 

horseflesh. Being desirous of ascertaining the opinion of a

138 A DICTIONAKY OF 

candidate for ordination, who had the look of a bird of the 

same feather, as to the merits of some cattle just brought 

to her father's palace for her to select from, she was assured 

by him they were utterly unfit for a lady's use. With a 

knowing look at the horses' points, she gave her decision in 

these choice words, " Well, I agree with you ; they are a 

rum lot, as the Devil said of the ten commandments." 

FAST, embarrassed, wanting money. Synonymous with hard 

UP. Yorkshire. 

FAT, a printer's term signifying the void spaces on a page, for 

which he is paid at the same rate as full or unbroken 

pages. This work afforded much fat for the printers. 

FAT, rich, abundant, &c. ; "a fat lot;" "to cut it fat," to 

exaggerate, to show off in an extensive or grand manner, 

to assume undue importance; cut up fat," see under coT. 

As a Theatrical term, a part with plenty of fat in it, is one 

which affords the actor an opportunity of effective display. 

FATHER, or fence, a buyer of stolen property. 

FAWiSTEY, a finger ring. 

FAWNEY BOUNCING, selling rings for a wager. 

This practice 

is founded upon the old tale of a gentleman laying a wager 

that if he was to offer " real gold sovereigns " at a penny a 

piece at the foot of London Bridge, the English public would 

be too incredulous to buy. The story states that the 

gentleman stationed himself with sovereigns in a tea tray, 

and sold only two within the hour,—winning the bet. 

This tale the fawney bouncers tell the public, only offering 

brass, double gilt rings, instead of sovereigns. 

FAWNEY, or fawney rig, ring dropping. A few years ago, 

this practice, or rig, was very common. 

A fellow purposely 

dropped a ring, or a pocket book with some little articles of 

jewellery, &c., in it, and when he saw any person pick it 

up, ran to claim half. The ring found, the question of 

how the booty was to be divided had then to be decided. 

The Fawney says, " if you will give me eight or nine shillings 

for my share the things are yours." This the flat thinks 

very fair. The ring of course is valueless, and the swallower 

of the bait discovers the trick too late. 

FEATHERS, money, wealth ; 

" in full feather," rich. 

FEEDER, a spoon.—OW cant. 

FEELE, a daughter, or child. 

FELT, a hat. 

Corrupted French. 

Old term, in use in the sixteenth century.


FENCE, or fencer, a purchaser or receiver of stolen goods 

FENCE, the shop or warehouse of a fencer.— Old cant. 

FENCE, to sell or pawn stolen property to a fencer. 

FERRICADOUZER, a knock down below, a good thrashing. 

Probably derived through the Lingua Franca from the 

Italian, far' cader' mokto, to knock down dead. 

FIB, to beat, or strike^ 

Old cant. 

FIDDLE, a whip. 

FIDDLE FADDLE, twaddle, or trifling discourse.— OZd cant. 

FIDDLE STICKS ! nonsense. 

FIDDLER, or fadge, a farthing. 

FIDDLER, a sixpence. Household Words, No. 183. 

FIDDLER, a sharper, a cheat ; 

also one who dawdles over little 

matters, and neglects great ones. 

FIDDLERS' MONEY, a lot of sixpences ;— 6d. was the remuneration 

to fiddlers from each of the company in old times. 

FIDDLING, doing any odd jobs in the streets, holding horses, 

carrying parcels, &c., for a living. Among the middle 

classes, fiddling means idling away time, or trifling ; and 

amongst sharpers, it means gambling. 

FID FAD, a game similar to chequers, or drafts, played in the 

West of England. 

FIDLUM BEN, thieves who take 

anything they can lay their 

hands upon. 

FIELD-LANE-DUCK, a baked sheep's head. Field-lane is a 

low London thoroughfare, leading from the foot of Hoi bomhill 

to the purlieus of Clerkenwell. It was formerly the 

market for stolen pocket handkerchiefs. 

FIG, "to FIG a horse," to play improper tricks with one in 

order to make him lively. 

FIG, " in full FIG," i.e., full dress costume, " extensively got up." 

FIGURE, " to cut a good or bad figure," to make a good or 

indifferent appearance " 

; what's the figure ?" how much is 

to pay ? Figure-head, a person's face. Sea term. 

FILCH, to steal, or purloin. Originally a cant word, derived 

from the filches, or hooks, thieves used to carry, to hook 

clothes, or any portable articles from open windows. .Vide 

Decker. It was considered a cant or Gipsey term up to the 

beginning of the last century. Harman has " fylche, to 

robbe." 

FILE, a deep, or artful man, a jocose name for a cunning person.


Originally a term for a pickpocket, when to file was to 

cheat or rob. File, an artful man, was used in the thirteenth 

and fourteenth centuries. 

FILLIBRUSH, to flatter, praise ironically. 

FIMBLE-FAMBLE, a lame prevaricating excuse. Scand. 

FIN", a hand; " come, tip us your fin," viz., let us shake hands. 

— Sea. 

FINDER, one who finds bacon and meat at the market before 

they are lost, i.e., steals them, 

FINUF, a five-pound note. Double finuf, a ten-pound note. 

— German, funf, five. 

FISHY, doubtful, unsound, rotten—a term used to denote a 

suspicion of a " screw being loose," or " something rotten 

in the state of Denmark," in alluding to an unsafe speculation. 

FISH, a person ; 

" a queer fish," " a loose fish," &c. 

FIX, a predicament, dilemma " 

; an awful fix,'' a terrible position 

; 

" to FIX one's flint for him," i.e., to " settle hia 

hash," " put a spoke in his wheel." 

FIZZING, first-rate, very good, excellent; synonymous with 

STUNNING. 

FLABERGAST, or flabbebghast, to astonish, or strike with 

wonder. Old. 

FLAG, a groat, or 4d. Ancient cant. 

FLAG, an apron. 

FLAG OF DISTRESS, poverty—when the end of a person's 

shirt protrudes through his trousers. 

FLAM, nonsense, blarney, a lie. Kentish ; Anglo Saxon. 

FLAME, a sweetheart. 

FLANNEL, or hot flannel, the old term for gin and beer, 

drank hot, with nutmeg, sugar, &c. Also called flip. There 

is an anecdote told of Goldsmith helping to drink a quart of 

FLANNEL in a night house, in company with George Parker, 

Ned Shuter, and a demure grave looking gentleman, who 

continually introduced the words crap, stretch, scrag, 

and swing. Upon the Doctor's asking who this strange 

person might be, and being told his profession, he rushed 

from the place in a frenzy, exclaiming, " Good God ! and 

have I been sitting all this while with a hangman ?" 

FLARE UP, a jovial social gathering, a "break down," a "row." 

FLASH, showy, smart, knowing ; a word with vaiious meanings.


A person is said to be dressed flash when his garb is 

showy, and after a fashion, but without taste. A person is 

said to be flash when he apes the appearance or manners 

of his betters, or when he is trying to be superior to his 

friends and relations. Flash also means " fast," roguish, 

and sometimes infers counterfeit or deceptive,—and this, 

perhaps, is its general signification. " Flash, my young 

friend, or slang, as others call it, is the classical language 

of the Holy Land; in other words, St. Giles' Greek." Tom 

and Jerry, by Moncreiff. Vulgar language was first termed 

flash in the year 1718, by Hitchin, author of " The Regulator 

of Thieves, &c., with account of flash words." 

FLASH IT, show it—said when any bargain is offered. 

FLAT, a fool, a silly or " soft " person, the opposite of sharp. 

The term appears to be shortenings for " sharp-witted 

and " flat-witted." " Oh ! Messrs. Tyler, Donelson, and the 

rest, what flats yon are."— Times, 5tli September, 1847. 

FLATTIES, rustic, or uninitiated people. 

FLATTY-KEN, a public house, the landlord of which is ignorant 

of the practices of the thieves and tramps who frequent 

it. 

FLESH AND BLOOD, brandy and port in equal quantities. 

FLESH-BAG, a shirt. 

FLICK, or OLD flick, an old chap or fellow. 

FLICK, or FLIG, to whip by striking, and drawing the lash back 

at the same time, which causes a stinging blow. 

FLIM FLAMS, idle stories. Beaumont and Fletcher. 

FLIMP, to hustle, or rob. 

FLIMSIES, bank notes. 

FLIMSY, the thin prepared copying paper used by newspaper 

reportera and " penny-a-liners " for making several copies 

at once, thus enabling them to supply different papers with 

the same article without loss of time. Printers' term. 

FLINT, an operative who works for a "society" master, i.e., 

for full wages. 

FLIP, corruption oJf fillip, a light blow. 

FLIP-FLAPS, a peculiar rollicking dance indulged in by costermongers 

when merry or excited—better described, perhaps, 

as the DOUBLE shuffle, danced with an air of extreme 

abandon. 

FLIPPER, the hand ; " give us your flipper," give me your 

hand. Sea. Metaphor taken from the flipper or pad(fie of 

a turtle.


FLOG, to whip. Cited both by Qrose and the author oi Bacchus 

and Venus as a cant word. It would be curious to ascertain 

the earliest use ; Richardson cites Lord Chesterfield. 

Latin. 

FLOGGER, a whip.— 06«oZe% 

Scotch. 

FLUSH, the opposite of hard up, in possession 

poverty stricken. 

ShaJcespere. 

of money, not 

FLY, to lift, toss, or raise; "fly the mags," ie., toss up the 

halfpence; "to fly a window," i.e., to lift one for the 

purpose of stealing. 

FLY, knowing, wide awake, fully understanding another's 

meaning. 

FLY THE KITE, or raise the wind, to obtain money on 

bills, whether good or bad, alluding to tossing paper 

about like children do a kite. 

FLY THE KITE, to evacuate from a window,—term used in 

padding kens, or low lodging houses. 

FLYING-MESS, " to be in flying mess" is a soldier's phrase for 

being hungry and having to mess where he can. Military. 

FLYING STATIONERS, paper workers, hawkers of penny

. so 

MODEKN SLANG AND CANT '^VORBS. 143 

ballads ; 

" Printed for the Flying Stationers " is the imprimatur 

on hundreds of penny histories and sheet songs 

of the last and present centuries. 

FLYMY, knowing, cunning, roguish. 

FOALED, " thrown from a horse." Hunting term.— See purled, 

and SPILT. 

FOGEY, or old fogey, a dullard, an old-fashioned or singular 

person. Grose says it is a nickname for an invalid soldier, 

from the French, fouegea.ux, fierce or fiery, but it has lost 

this signification now. Fogger, old word for a huckster or 

servant. 

FOGGY, tipsy. 

FOGLE, a silk handkerchief—not a clout, which is of cotton. 

It has been hinted that this may have come from the German, 

VOGEL, a bird, from the bird's eye spots on some handkerchiefs 

[see bikd's-eye-wipe, under billy], but a more 

probable derivation is the Italian slang (Fourbesqiie) foglia, 

a pocket, or purse ; or from the French argot, fouille, also 

a pocket. 

FOGUS, tobacco. Old cant. FoGO, old word for stench. 

FOONT, a sovereign, or 20s. 

FOOTING, " to pay footing."—-See shoe. 

FOEAKERS, a water-closet, or house of office.^Term used by 

the boys at Winchester school. 

FORK OUT, to bring out one's money, to pay the bill, to stand 

to hand over what does not belong to 

FOR or treat a friend ; 

you.—Old cant term for picking pockets, and very curious 

it is to trace its origin. In the early part of the last century, 

a little book on purloining was published, and of course it 

had to give the latest modes. Forking was the newest 

method, and it consisted in thrusting the fingers stiflF and 

open into the pocket, and then quickly closing them and 

extracting any article. 

FORKS, or grappling irons, fingers. 

FORTY GUTS, vulgar term for a fat man. 

FOUR AND NINE, or four and ninepenny goss, a cheap hat, 

called from is. 9d., the price at which a noted advertising 

hat maker sold his hats 

FOU, slightly intoxicated. 

" Whene'er to slumber you incline. 

Take a short nap at 4 and 9."—1844. 

Scotch. 

FOURTH, or fourth court, the court appropriated to the


water-closets at Cambridge ; from its really being No. 4 at 

Trinity College. A man leaving his room to go to this 

FOURTH COURT, writes on his door "gone to the fourth," 

or, in algebraic notation, " gone 4 " —the Cambridge slang 

phrase. 

FOX, to cheat or rob. Eton College. 

FOXING, watching in the streets for any occurrence which may 

be turned to a profitable account. See mooching. 

FOXING, to pretend to be asleep like a fox, which is said to take 

its rest with one eye open. 

FOXY, rank, tainted. Lincolnshire. 

FREE, to steal— generally applied to horses. 

FBEE AND EASY, a club held at most public houses, the members 

of which meet in the taproom or parlour for the purpose 

of drinking, smoking, and hearing each other sing and 

"talk politics." The name indicates the chai-acter of the 

proceedings. 

FREEMAN'S QUAY, " drinking at freeman's quay," i.e., at 

another's cost. This quay was formerly a celebrated 

wharf near London Bridge, and the saying arose from the 

beer which was given gratis to porters and carmen who 

went there on business. 

FRENCH CREAM, brandy. 

FRENCH LEAVE, to leave or depart slyly, without saying 

anything. 

FRESH, said of a person slightly intoxicated. 

FRISK, to search ; frisked, searched by a constable or other 

ofi&cer. 

FRISK A CLY, to empty a pocket. 

FRIZZLE, champagne. 

FROG, a policeman. 

FRONTISPIECE, the face. 

FROW, a girl, or wife. German, frau ; Dutch, VROUW. 

FRUMMAQEMMED, annihilated, strangled, garotted, or spoilt. 

— Old cant. 

FRUMP, a slatternly woman, a gossip. Ancient. 

FRUMP, to mock, or insult. Beaumont and Fletcher. 

FUDGE, nonsense, stupidity. Todd and Richardson only trace 

the word to Gol'Ismith. Disraeli, however, gives the origin 

to a Captain Fudge, a great fibber, who told monstrous 

stories, which made his crew say in answer to any impro-


bability, "you fudge it !" See RemarTcs on the Navy, 

1700. 

FULLAMS, false dice, which always turn up high. Shakes. 

FULLY, " to be fullied," to be committed for trial. From 

the slang of the penny-a-liner, "the prisoner was fully 

committed for trial." 

FUNK, to smoke out. North. 

FUNK, trepidation, nervousness, cowardice. To funk, to be 

afraid, or nervous. 

FUNNY-BONE, the extremity of the elbow— or rather, the 

muscle which passes round it between the two bones, a 

blow on which causes painful tingling in the fingers. Facetiously 

derived, from its being the extremity of the humerus 

(humorous). 

FYE-BUCK, a sixpence. Nearly obsolete. 

GAB, GABBER, or GABBLE, talk ; 

" gift of the gab," loquacity, or 

natural talent for sijeech-making. Anglo Norman. 

GAD, a trapesing, slatternly woman. Gipsey. Anglo Saxon 

gadelyng. 

GADDING THE HOOF, going without shoes. Gadding, 

roiiming about, although used in an old translation of the 

Bible, is now only heard amongst the lower orders. 

GAFF, a fair, or penny-playhouse. - See penny gaff. 

GAFFING, tossing halfpence, or counters. North, where it 

means tossing up three pennies. 

GALENY, old cant term for a fowl of any kind; now a respectable 

word in the West of England, signifying a Guinea 

fowl.— Vide Grose. Latin, gallina. 

GALLAVANT, to wait upon the ladies.— OZd. 

GALORE, abundance. 

Irish, go leob, in plenty. 

GALLOWS, very, or exceediugly a disgusting exclamation 

" gallows poor," very poor. 

GAME, a term variously applied " 

; are you game ?" have you 

courage enough? " what's your little game ?" what are you 

'• 

going to do ? come, none of your games," be quiet, don't 

annoy me ; 

" on the game," out thieving. 

G.\MMON, to hoax, to deceive merrily, to laugh at a person, to 

tell an untrue but plausible story, to make game of, or in 

the provincial dialect, to make game on ; 

" who's thou 

makin' thy gam' on ?" i. e., who are you making a fool of / 

— Yorkshire.


GAMMON, deceit, humbug, a false and ridiculous story. 

Anglo 

Saxon, GAMEN, game, sport. 

GAMMY, bad, unfavourable, poor tempered. Those householders 

who are known enemies to the street folk and 

tramps, are pronounced by them to be gammy. Gammt 

sometimes means forged, as "gakmy-monekeb," a forged 

signature ; gammy stuff, spurious medicine ; gammy lowr, 

counterfeit coin. Hants, gamy, dirty. The hieroglyphic 

used by beggars and cadgers to intimate to those of the 

tribe coming after that things are not very favourable, is 

known as D, or gammy. 

GAMMY-VIAL (Ville), a town where the police will not let 

persons hawk. 

GANDER MONTH, the period when the monthly nurse is in 

the ascendant, and the husband has to shift for himself. 

GAR, euphuistic corruption of the title of the Deity " 

; be gar, 

you don't say so !" Franco-English. 

GARRET, the head. 

GARRET, the fob pocket. 

GARGLE, medical student Slang for physic. 

GAS, " to give a person gas," to scold him or give hira a good 

beating. Synonymous with " to give him jessie." 

GASSY, liable to " flare up" at any offence. 

GATTER, beer; "shantof gatter," a pot of beer. A curious 

street melody, brimful and running over with slang, known 

in Seven Dials as Bet, the Coaleys Daughter, thus mentions 

the word in a favourite verse : 

" But when I strove my flame to tell 

Says she, ' Come, sU w that palter' 

If you're a cove wot likes a gal 

Vy don't you stand some gatteb ? 

In course I instantly complied 

Two brimming quarts of porter. 

With four goes of gin beside, 

Brained Bet the Coaley's daughter." 

GAWFS, cheap red-skinned apples, a favourite fruit with costermongers, 

who rub them well with a piece of cloth, and 

find ready purchasers. 

GAWKY, a lanky, or awkward person ; a fool. Saxon, geac ; 

Scotch, GOWK. 

GAY, loose, dissipated ; 

" gay woman," a kept mistress, or 

prostitute. 

GEE, to agree with, or be congenial to a person.


GEN", a shilling. Also, gent, silver. Abbreviation of the French, 

ARGENT. 

GENT, a contraction of "gentleman," — in more senses than 

one. A dressy, showy, foppish man, with a little mind, 

Pro- 

who vulgarises the prevailing fashion. 

GENT, silver. From the French, argent. 

GET-UP, a person's appearance, or general arrangements. 

bably derived from the decorations of a play. 

" There's so much getting tip to please the town, 

It takes a precious deal of cominf? down." 

Planches Mr. Buc/cstone's Ascent of Parnassus. 

GHOST, "the ghost does'nt walk," i. e., the manager is too 

poor to pay salaries as yet. Theat. ; Uo. Words, No. 183. 

GIB-FACE, properly the lower lip of a horse " 

; to hang one's 

GIB," to pout the lower lip, be angry or suUen. 

GIBBERISH, unmeaning jargon ; the language of the Gipseys, 

synonymous with slang, another Gipsey word. Somner 

says, " French, gabber ; Dutch, gabbeeen ; and our own 

GAB, gabber ; hence also, I take it, our gibberish, a kind of 

canting language used by a sort of rogues we vulgarly call 

Gipseys, a gibhle gabble understood only among themselves." 

— Gipsey. See Introduction. 

GIFFLE GAFFLE, nonsense.— &e chaff. 

Icelandic, gafla. 

GIFT, any article which has been stolen and afterwards sold at 

a low price. 

GIG, a farthing. Formerly, grig. 

GIG, fun, frolic, a spree. 

" In search of lark, or some delicious gig. 

The mind delights on, when 'tis in prime twig." 

Randall's Diary, 1820. 

GIGLAMPS, spectacles. In my first edition I stated this to be 

a University term. Mr. Cuthbert Bede, however, in a communication 

to Notes and Queries, of which I have availed 

myself in the present edition, says— " If the compiler has 

taken this epithet from Verdant Green, I can only say that 

I consider the word not to be a ' University' word in general, 

but as only due to the inventive genius of Mr. Bouncer 

in particular." The term, however, has been adopted, and 

is now in general use. 

GILL, a homely woman " 

; Jack and gill," &c.— Ben Jonson. 

GILLS, the lower part of the face. Bacon. "To grease one's 

GILLS," " to have a good feed," or make a hearty meal. 

GILLS, shirt collars. 

l2


GILT, money. German, geld ; Dutch, gelt. 

GIMCRACK, a bijou, a slim piece of mechanism. Old slang 

for " a spruce wench." JV. Bailey. 

GIN AND GOSPEL GAZETTE, the Morning Advertiser, po 

called from its be-ng the organ of the dipsenting party, and 

of the Licensed Victuallers' Association. Sometimes termed 

the TAP TUB, or the 'tizer, 

GINGER, a showy, fast horse— as if he had been figged with 

GINGER under his tail. 

GINGERLY, to do anything with great care. Cotgrave. 

GINGER HACKLED, having flaxen light yellow hair. -See 

HACKLE. 

GINGUMBOB. a bauble. 

GIVE, to strike or scold ; 

" I'll give it to you," I will thrash 

you. Formerly, to rob. 

GLASGOW MAGISTRATES, salt herrings.— -STco/cA. 

GLAZE, glass— generally applied to windows. 

GLIM, a light, a lamp " 

; dowse the 

— Sea, and old cant. 

glim," put the candle out. 

GLIM LURK, a begging paper, giving a certified 

dreadful fire—which never happened. 

account of a 

GLOAK, a man. Scotch. 

GLUMP, to sulk. 

GLUMPISH, of a stubborn, sulky temper. 

GNOSTICS, knowing ones, or sharpers. Nearly obsolete in this 

vulgar sense. 

GO, a go of gin a quartern of that liquor ; go is also synonymous 

with circumstance or occurrence; " a rummy go," and "a 

great go," signify curious and remarkable occurrences; 

" no go," no good " 

; here's a pretty go !" here's a trouble ! 

"to go the jump," to enter a house by the window ; 

" all 

the GO," in fashion. See little go. 

"Gemmen (says he), you all well know 

The joy there is whene'er we meet 

It's what I call the pTimest go, 

And rightly named, 'tis— 'qnite a treat.'" 

Jack RandaWs Diary, 1820. 

GO-ALONG, a t\Aei.—Household Words, No. 183. 

GOB, the mouth ; mucus, or saliva. North. Sometimes used 

for GAB, talk— 

"There was a man called Job, 

Dwelt in t'le Ian 1 of Uz ; 

He had a good gift of the gob ; 

The same case happen us." 

Zace. Boxd.


GOB, a portion. 

GODS, the people in the upper gallery of a theatre " 

; up 

amongst the gods," a seat amongst the low persous in the 

gallery— so named from the high position of the gallery, 

and the blue sky generally painted on the ceiling of the 

theatre ; termed by the French, pakadis. 

GODS, the quadrats used by priuters iu throwing on the imposing 

stt'ne, similar to the movement in casting dice. 

Printers' term. 

GO IT, a term of encouragement, implying "keep it up!" 

Sometimes amplified to go it, ye cripples ; said to have been 

a facetious rendering of the last line of VirgWs Eclogues— 

" Ite domum Saturae, Venit Hesperus, ite capi^lUe ;" 

or, " GO IT, YE CRIPPLES, CROTCHES ARE CHEAP." 

GOLDFINCH, a sovereign. 

GOLGOTHA, a hat, " place of a skull." 

GOLOPSHUS, splendid, delicious, luscious. Norwich. 

GOOSE, to ruin, or spoiL Also, to hiss a ^\a.y.— Theatrical. 

GOOSE, a tailor's pressing iron.— Originally a slang term, but 

now in most dictionaries. 

GOOSEBERRY, to "play up old gooseberry" with anyone, 

to defeat or silence a person in a quick or summary manner. 

GOOSECAP, a booby, or noodle. Devonshire. 

GOOSER, a settler, or finishing blow. 

GORMED, a Norfolk corruption of a profane oath. So used by 

Mr. Peggotty, one of Dickens' < haracters. 

GORGER, a swell, a well dressed, or gorgeous man—^probably 

derived from that word. 

GOSPEL GRINDER, a city missionary, or tract distributor. 

GOSS, a hat—from the gossamer silk with which modern hats 

are made. 

GONNOF, or gun, a fool, a bungler, an amateur pickpocket. A 

correspondent thinks this may be a corruption of gone off, 

on the analogy of go-along ; but the term is really as old 

as Chaucer's time. During Kett's rebellion in Norfolk, in 

the reign of Edward VI., a song was sung by the insurgents 

in which the term occurs - 

" The country gxoffkb, HoT), Dick, and Hick, 

With clubbes and clouted shoou. 

Shall fill up Dussjn dale 

With slaughtered bodies soone." 

GOUROCK HAM, salt herrings. Gourock, on the Clyde, about


twenty-five miles from Glasgow, was formerly a great fishing 

village. 

Scotch. 

GOVERNMENT SIGNPOST, the gallows. 

GOVERNOR, a father, a master or superior pei'son, an elder 

" which way, guv'ner, to Cheapside ?" 

GRABB, to clutch, or seize. 

GRABBED, caught, apprehended. 

GRABBERS, the hands. 

GRACE-CARD, the ace of hearts. 

GRAFT, to work; "where are you grafting?" i.e , where do 

you live, or work ? 

GRANNY, to know, or recognise ; 

" de ye gbanny the bloke ?" 

do you know the man ? 

GRANNY, importance, knowledge, pride ; 

" take the gbanny 

ofi" them as has white hands," viz., remove their self-conceit. 

— Maykew, vol. i., p. 364. 

GRAPPLING IRONS, fingers.—£^m. 

GRASS, "gone to grass," dead,—a coarse allusion to burial; 

absconded, or disappeared suddenly ; 

" oh, go to grass," a 

common answer to a troublesome or inquisitive person, 

possibly a corruption of " go to grace," meaning, of course, 

a directly opposite fate. 

GRASS-WIDOW, an unmarried mother; a deserted mistress. 

In the United States, during the gold fever in Califoroia, it 

was common for an adventurer to put both his grass-widow 

and his children to school during his absence. 

GRAVEL, to confound, to bother; "I'm gravelled," i.e , 

perplexed 

or confused.— Old. 

GRAVEL- RASH, a scratched face,—telling its tale of a drunken 

fall. 

GRAY-COAT-PARSON, a lay impropriator, or lessee 

tithes. 

GRAYS, or scotch grays, lice. 

Scotch. 

of great 

GRAYS, halfpennies, with either two " heads" or two " tails," 

— both sides alike. Low gamblers use grays, and they cost 

from 2d. to 6d. each. 

GREASE-SPOT, a minute remnant, the only distinguishable 

remains of an antagonist after a terrific contest. 

GREASING a man is bribing; soaping is flattering him. 

GREEKS, the low Irish. St. Giles' greek, slang or cant language. 

Cotgrave gives mebie greek as a definition for a


ISl 

roystering fellow, a drunkard. Shdkespere.— See medical 

GBEEK. 

GREEN, ignorant, not wide awake, inexjierienced. Shakespere. 

" Do you see any gkeen in my eye ?" ironical question in 

a dispute. 

GREEN-HORN, a fresh, simple, or uninitiated person. 

GRIDDLER, a person who sings in the streets without a printed 

copy of the words. 

GRIEF, "to come to grief," to meet with an accident, be ruined. 

GRIFFIN, in India, a newly arrived cadet; general for an 

inexperienced youngster. " Fast " young men in London 

frequently term an umbrella a griffin. 

GRIND, " to take a grind," i.e., a walk, or constitutional. 

University. 

GRIND, to work up for an examination, to cram with a grinder, 

or private tutor.— Medical. 

GRINDERS, teeth. 

GROGGY, tipsy ; when a prize-fighter becomes " weak on his 

plus," and nearly beaten, he is said to be groggy.— Pugilistic. 

The same term is applied to horses in a similar 

condition. Old English, aggroggyd, weighed down, oppressed. 

Prompt. Parvulorum. 

GRUB, meat, or food, of any kind, grub signifying food, and 

BDB, drink. 

GRUBBING-KEN, or spinikin, a workhouse ; 

GRUBBY, musty, or old-fashioned. 

Devonshire. 

a cook-shop. 

GULFED, a University term, denoting that a man is unable 

to eater for the classical examination, from having failed in 

the mathematical. Candidates for classical honours were 

compelled to go in for both examinations. From the alteration 

of the arrangements the term is now obsolete. — (7am5. 

GULPIN, a weak, credulous fellow. 

GUMMY, thick, fat— 

generally applied to a woman's ancles, or 

to a man whose flabby person betokens him a drunkard. 

GUMPTION, or rumgumption, comprehension, capacity. From 

GAUM, to comprehend ; 

" I canna gauge it, and I canna 

gaum it," as a Yorkshire exciseman said of a hedgehog. 

GURRELL, a fob. 

GUTTER BLOOD, a low or vulgar m&n—Scotch. 

GUTTER LA.NE, the throat.


GUY, a fright, a dowdy, an ill-dressed person. Derived from 

the effigy of Guy Fawkes carried about by boys on Nov. 5. 

GYP, an undergraduate's valet at Cambridge. Corruption of 

GTPSEY JOE {Saturday Review) ; 

popularly derived by Cantabs 

from the Greek, gyps {yv\^), a vulture, from their dishonest 

rapacity. At Oxford they are called scouts. 

HACKLE, "to show hackle," to be willing to fight. Hackles 

are the long feathers on the back of a cock's neck, which he 

erects when angry,—hence the metaphor. 

HADDOCK, a purse. See beans. 

HALF A BEAN, half a sovereign. 

HALF A BULL, two shillings and sixpence. 

HALF A COUTER, half a sovereign. 

HALF A HOG, sixpence ; 

sometimes termed half a grunter. 

HALF A STRETCH, six months in prison, 

HALF A TUSHEROON, half a crown. 

HALF AND HALF, a mixture of ale and porter, much affected 

by medical students ; occasionally Latinized into dimidium 

DIMIDIUMQUE. See COOPER. 

HALF BAKED, soft, doughy, half-witted, silly. 

HALF FOOLISH, ridiculous ; means often wholly foolish. 

HALF JACK.-&e jacks. 

HALF ROCKED, silly, half-witted.—Compare half baked. 

HALF SEAS OVER, reeling drunk.—^-ea. Used by Swift. 

HAND, a workman, or helper, a person. 

" A cool hand," explained 

by Sir "Thomas Overbury to be " one who accounts 

bashfulness the wickedest thing in the worW, and therefore 

studies impudence." 

HANDER, a second, or assistant, in a prize fight. 

HANDLE, a nose ; the title appended to a person's n ime ; also 

a term in boxing, "handling one's fists." 

HAND-SAW, or chive fencer, a man who sells razors and 

knives in the streets. 

HANDSELLER, or cheap jack, a street or open air seller, a 

man who carries goods to his customers, instead of waiting 

for his customers to visit him, 

HANG OUT, to reside,—in allusion to the ancient custom of 

hanging out signs. 

HANGMAN'S WAGES, thirteenpence halfpenny. 

HANSEL, or handsale, the Iricki/ money, or first money taken in


the morning by a pedlar. — Cocker's Dictionary, 1724. "Legs 

of muttou (street term for sheep's trotters, or feet) two for 

a penny ; who'll give me a hansel ? who'll give me a 

UK^&EhV — Cry at Cloth Fair at the present day. Hence, 

earnest money, first fruits, &c. In Norfolk, hanselling a 

thing, is using it for the first time, as wearing a new coat, 

taking seizin of it, as it were. Anglo Saxon. N. Bailey. 

HA'PURTH OF LIVELINESS, the music at a low concert, or 

theatre. 

HARD LINES, hardship, di&cn\ty.— Soldiers' term for haid 

duty on the lines in front of the enemy. 

HARD UP, in distress, poverty stricken. Sea. 

HARD-UPS, cigar-end finders, who collect the refuse pieces of 

smoked cigars from the gutter, and having dried them, sell 

them as tobacco to the very poor, 

HARRY, or old harry {i.e. Old Hairy !) the Devil " 

; to play 

OLD HARRY with one," i.e., ruin or annoy him. 

HARRY-SOPH (epiffocpos, very wise indeed), an undergraduate 

in his last year of residence. Camhridrje. 

HASH, a mess, confusion ; "a pretty hash he made of it ;" to 

HASH UP, to jumble together without order or regularity. 

HATCHET, "to throw the hatchet," to tell lies. 

HAWSE HOLES, the apertures in a ship's bows through which 

the cables pass ; 

" he has crept in through the hawseholes," 

said of an officer who has risen from the grade of 

an ordinary seaman. Navy. 

HAY BAG, a woman. 

HAZY, intoxicated.—/foMie/ioW Words, No. 183. 

HEAD OR TAIL, " I can't make head or tail of it," i.e., cannot 

make it out. 

HEAP, "a heap of people," a crowd; " struck all of a heap," 

suddenly astonished. 

HEAVY WET, porter or beer,—because the more a man drinks 

of it, the heavier he becomes. 

HEDGE, to secure a doubtful bet by making others. — Tw?/. 

HEEL-TAPS, small quantities of wine or other beverage left in 

the bottom of glasses, considered as a sign that the liquor 

is not liked, and therefore unfriendly and unsocial to the 

host and the company. 

HEIGH HO ! a cant term for stolen yarn, fi-om the expression 

used to apprize the dishonest tnanufacturer that the speaker 

has stolen yarn to sell. Norwich cant.


HELL, a fashionable gambling house. In printing offices, the 

term is generally applied to the old tin box in which is 

thrown the broken or spoilt type, purchased by the founders 

for re-casting. Nearly obsolete. 

HEN AND CHICKENS, large and small pewter pots. 

HEN-PECKED, said of 

one whose wife " wears the breeches." 

HERRING POND, the sea; "to be sent across the herring 

POND," to be transported. 

HIDING, a thrashing. Webster gives this word, but not its 

root, HIDE, to beat, flay by whipping. 

HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY, all together, -as hogs and pigs lie. 

HIGH AND DRY, an epithet applied to the soi disant 

" orthodox" clergy of the last century, for whom, while illpaid 

curates did the work, the comforts of the establishment 

were its greatest charms. 

" Wherein are various ranks, and due degrees, 

The Bench for honour, and the Stall for ease." 

Though often confounded with, they are utterly dissimilar 

to, the modern High Church or Anglo-Catholic party. 

Their equally uninteresting opponents deserved the coi'respouding 

appellation of LOW and slow; while the so called 

" Broad Church" is defined with equal felicity as the broad 

AND SHALLOW. 

HIGH FLY, " ON THE HIGH FLY," on the begging or 

cadging 

system. 

HIGH JINKS, " ON THE HIGH JINKS," taking up an arrogant 

position, assuming an undue superiority. 

HIGH-FLYER, a genteel beggar, or swindler. 

HIGH FLYERS, large swings, in frames, at fairs and races. 

HIGH-LOWS, laced boots reaching a trifle higher than ancle- 

HIGHFALUTEN, showy, afi'ected, tinselled, afiecting certain 

pompous or fashionable airs, stuck up ; 

" come, none of 

yer highfaluten games," i.e., you must not show ofi" or 

imitate the swell here. American slang from the Dutchy 

VERLOOTEN. 

HIP INSIDE, inside coat pocket. 

HIP OUTSIDE, outside coat pocket. 

HIVITE, a student of St. Begh's College, 

nounced ST. bee's.— University 

Cumberland ; 

pro-


HOAX, to deceive, or ridicule,— Grose says was originally a 

University cant word. Corruption of hocus, to cheat. 

cueby hocks, round or clumsy feet. 

HOCKS, the feet ; 

HOCUS, to drug a person, and then rob him. The HOCUS 

generally consists of snuff and beer. 

HOCUS POCUS, Gipsey words of magic, similar to the modern 

" presto fly." The Gipseys pronounce "Habeas Corpus" 

HAWcos PACCUS (see Crabb's Gipsey' s Advocate, p. 18); can 

this have anything to do with the origin of hocus pocus ? 

Turner gives ochus bochus, an old demon. Pegge, however, 

states that it is a burlesque rendering of the words of 

the unreformed church service at the delivery of the host, 

hoc est corpus, which the early Protestants considered as 

a species of conjuring, and ridiculed accordingly. 

HODGE, a countryman or provincial clown. I don't know that 

it has been elsewhere remarked, but most country districts 

in England have one or more families of the name of 

HODGE ; indeed, giles and hodge appear to be the favourite 

hobnail nomenclature. Not in any way writing disrespectfully, 

was the slang word taken from Hog—with the g 

soft, which gives the dg pronunciation ? In old canting 

dictionaries hoegb stands for a country clown; so, indeed, 

does ROGER, another favourite provincial name. — Vide 

Bacchus and Fckm*. 

HOG, " to go the whole hog," to do anything with a person's 

entire strength, not " by halves ;" realised by the phrase " in 

for a penny in for a pound." Bartlett claims this to be a 

pure American phrase; whilst Ker, of course, gives it a 

Dutch origin. Old. 

HOG, a shilling. 

Old cant. 

HOISTING, shoplifting. 

HOLLOW, " to beat hollow," to excel. 

HOLY LAND, Seven Dials,—where the St. Giles' Greek is 

spoken. 

HOOK, to steal or rob. See the following. 

HOOK OR BY CROOK, by fair means or foul—in allusion to 

the hook which f jotpads used to carry to steal from open 

windows, &c., and from which hook, to take or steal, has 

been derived. Mentioned in Hudibras as a cant term. 

HOOK IT, " get out of the way," or " be off about your business ;" 

" to hook it," to run away, to decamp ; 

" on one's own 

hook," dependant upou one's own exertions. See the preceding 

for derivation.

15G 

A DICTIONARY OF 

HOOKS, " dropped off the hooks," said of a deceased person 

derived from the ancient practice of suspending on liooka 

the quarters of a traitor or felon sentenced by the old law 

to be hung, drawn, and quartered, and which dropped off 

the hooks as they decayed. 

HOOKEY WALKER ! 

ejaculation of incredulity, usually 

shortened to walkeb ! —which see. A con'espondent 

thinks HOOKEY walker may have been a certain Hugh K. 

Walker. 

KOOK-UM SNIVEY (formerly " hook and snivey"), a low expression 

meaning to cheat by feigning sickness or other 

means Also a piece of thick ir'm wire crooked at one end, 

and fastened into a wooden handle, for the purpose of 

undoing from the outside the wooden bolt of a door. 

HOP, a dance. Fashionable slang. 

HOP THE TWIG, to run away, or bolt, which see.— OW. 

HOP-MERCHANT, a dancing-master. 

HOPPING GILES, a cripple. St. JEgidius or Giles, himself 

similarly afflicted, was their patron saint. The ancient 

lazar houses were dedicated to him. 

HORRID HORN, term of reproach amongst the street Irish, 

meaning a fool, or half-witted fellow. From the Erxe 

OMADHAUJf, a brainless fellow. A correspondent suggests 

HEKBiDAN, a miserable old woman. 

HORRORS, the low spirits, or " blue devils," which follow intoxication. 

HORSE, contraction of Horsemonger-lane Gaol. 

HORSE CHAUNTER, a dealer who takes worthless horses to 

country fairs and disposes of them by artifice. He is 

flexible in his ethics, and will put in a glass-eye, or perform 

other tricks. See coper. 

HORSE NAILS, money. Compare bbads. 

HORSE'S NIGHTCAP, a halter ; 

" to die in a horse's nightcap," 

to be hung. 

HORSE MARINE, an awkward person. In ancient times the 

'jollies '' or Royal Marines, were the butts of the sailors, 

from their ignorance of seamanship. "Tell that to the 

MARINES, the blue jackets won't believe it !" was a common 

rejoinder to a " stiff yarn." No w-a- days they are deservedly 

appreciated as the finest regiment in the service. A horse 

UARINB (an impossibility) was used to denote one more 

awkward still.

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WOKDS. 157 

HOT COPPERS, the feverish sensations experienced next morning 

by those who have been drunk over night. 

HOT TIGER, an Oxford mixture of hot-spiced ale and sherry. 

HOUSE OF COMMONS, a water-closet. 

HOXTER, an inside pocket. Old English, oxter. 

HUEY, a town or village. 

HUFF, to vex, or offend ; a poor temper. 

HUFF, a dodge or trick ; 

" don't try that huff on me," or " that 

HUFF won't do." Norwich. 

HULK, to hang about in hopes of an invitation. 

HULKY, extra sized. 

Shropshire. 

See mooch. 

HUM AND HAW, to liesitate, raise objections. Old English. 

HUMBLE PIE, to " eat humble pie," to knock under, be submissive. 

The UMBLES, or entrails of a deer, were anciently 

made into a dish for servants, while their masters feasted 

off the haunch. 

HUMBUG, an imposition, or a person who imposes upon others. 

A very expressive bub slang word, synonymous at one time 

with HUM AND HAW. Lexicographcrs have fought shy at 

adopting this word. Richardson uses it frequently to express 

the meining of other words, but omits it iu the alphabetical 

arrangement as unworthy of recognition ! In the 

first edition of this work, 1785 was given as the earliest 

date at which the word could be found in a printed book. 

Since then I have traced humbug half a century farther 

back, on the title-page of a singular old jest-book— " The 

Universal Jester ; or a pocket companion for the Wits : 

being a choice collection of merry conceits, facetious 

drolleries, &c., clenchers, closers, closures, bon-mots, and 

humbugs," by Ferdinaudo Killigrew. London, about 

1735-40. 

I have also ascertained that the famous Orator Henley was 

known to the mob as Ouator Humbug. The fact may be 

learnt from an illustration in that exceedingly curious little 

collection of Caricatures, published in 1757, many of which 

were sketched by Lord Bolingbroke—Horace Walpole filling 

in the names and explanations. HalUwell describes humbuq 

as " a person who hums," and cites Dean Milles' MS., which 

was written about 1760. It has been stated that the word 

is a corruption of Hamburgh, from which town so many 

false bulletins and reports came during the war in the lass 

century. " Oh, that is Hamburgh [or humbug]," was the 

answer to any fresh piece of news which smacked of im-


probability. Orose mentious it in his Dictionary, 1785 ; and 

in a little printed squib, published iu 1808, entitled Bath 

Characters, by T. Goosequill, humbug is thus mentioned in a 

comical couplet on the title page : 

" Wee Thre Bath Deities bee, 

Humbug, Foilie, and Varietee." 

Gradually from this time the word began to assume a place 

in periodical literature, and in novels not written by 

squeamish or over-precise authors. In the preface to a flat, 

and, I fear, unprofitable poem, entitled, TJie Reign o/husibug, 

a Satire, 8vo., 1836, the author thus apologises for the use 

of the word—" I have used the term humbug to designate 

this principle [wretched sophistry of life generally], considering 

that it is now adopted into our language as much as 

the words dunce, jockey, cheat, swindler, &c., which were 

formerly only colloquial terms." A correspondent, who in 

number of Adersaria ingeniously traced bombast to 

a late 

the inflated Doctor Paracelsus Bombast, considers that 

HUMBUG may, in like manner, be derived from Homberg, the 

distinguished chemist of the court of the Duke of Orleans, 

who, according to the following passage from Bishop 

Berkeley's " Siris," was an ardent and successful seeker 

after the philosopher's stone! 

" § 194.—Of this there cannot be abetter proof than the experiment 

of Monsieur Homberg, who made gold op mbkcckt by nr- 

TEODUciNG LIGHT INTO ITS PORES, but at Buch trouble and expense, 

that, I suppose, nobody will try the esperiment for profit. 

By this injunction of light and mercury, both bodies became 

fixed, and produced a third different to either, to wit, real gold. 

For the truth of which fact I refer to the memoirs of the 

French Aca lemy of Sciences." Berlcdeii's Works, vol. ii., p. 366, 

(Wright's edition). 

The universal use of this term is remarkable ; in California 

there is a town called Humbug Flat—a name which gives a 

significant hint of the acuteness of the first settler. 

HUM-DRUM, tedious, tiresome, boring; "a society of gentlemen 

who used to meet near the Charter House, or at 

the King's Head, St. John's- street. They were characterised 

by less mystery and more pleasantry than the Freemasons." 

Bacchus and Venus, 1737. In the West a low 

cart. 

HUMP, to botch, or spoil. 

HUMP UP, " to have one's hump up," to be cross or ill-tempered 

—like a cat with its back set up. See monket. 

HUMPTY DUMPTY, short and thick. 

HUNCH, to shove, or jostle.


HUNTER PITCHING, cock8hies,or three throws a penny .—&e 

COCKSHT. 

HUNTING THE SQUIRREL, when hackney and stage coachmen 

try to upset each other's vehicles on the public roads. 

Nearly obsolete. 

HURDY-GURDY, a droning musical instrument shaped like a 

large fiddle, and turned by a crank, used by Savoyards and 

itinerant foreign musicians in England, now nearly superseded 

by the hand-organ. A correspondent suggests that 

the name is derived from being girded on the hardies, loins 

or buttocks.— >Sco


JACK SPRAT, a diminutive boy or man. 

JACK TAR, a sailor. 

JACK-AT-A PINCH, one whose assistance is only sought on an 

emergency; jack-in the water, an attendant at the 

watermen's stairs on the river and sea-port towns, who 

does not mind wetting his feet for a customer's convenience, 

in consideration of a douceur. 

JACKS, HALF JACKS, Card counters, resembling in size and 

appearance sovereigns and half-sovereigns, for which they 

are occasionally passed to simple persons. In large gambling 

establisliments the " heaps of gold " are frequently 

composed mainly of jacks. 

JACKETING, a thrashing. 

JACKET, gin. 

JACOB, a ladder. Grose says from Jacob's dream.— Old cant. 

JAGGER, a gentleman. German, jager, a sportsman. 

JAIL BIRD, a prisoner, one who has been in jail. 

JAMES, a sovereign, or twenty shillings. 

JANNOCK, sociable, fair deaVms.— Norfolk. 

JAPAN, to ordain. University. 

JARK, a seal, or watch ornament. Ancient cant. 

JARVEY, tlie driver of a hackney coach ; jarvey's upper 

BENJAMIN, a coachman's over-coat. 

JAW, speech, or talk ; 

" hold your jaw," don't speak any more 

" what are you jawing about?" i.e., what are you making a 

noise about ? 

JAW-BREAKERS, hard or many-syllabled words. 

JAZEY, a wig. A corruption of Jersey, the name for flax 

prepared in a peculiar manner, and of which common 

wigs were formerly made. 

JEAMES, (a generic for "flunkies,") the ilforjiiwgr Pos« newspaper 

—^the organ of Belgravia and the " Haristocracy." 

JEHU, old slang term for a coachman, or one fond of driving. 

JEMMY, a crowbar. 

See sanguinary james, 

JEMMY, a sheep's head. 

JEMMY JESSAMY, a dandy. 

JERRY, a beer house. 

JERRY, a chamber utensil, 

abbreviation of Jeroboam.— Swift. 

Jerry-come-tumble, a water-closet. 

JERRY, a fog.


JERUSALEM PONY, a donkey. 

JESSIE, " to give a person jbssie," to beat him soundly. See 

GAS. 

JEW'S EYE, a popular simile for anything valuable. Probably 

a corruption of the Italian, gioje ; French, jouaille, a jewel. 

In ancient times, when a king was short of cash, he 

generally issued orders for so many Jew's eyes, or equivalent 

sums of money. The Jews preferred paying the 

ransom, although often very heavy. We thus realise the 

popularly believed origin of Jew's eye. Used by Shalespere. 

JEW-FENCER, a Jew street salesman. 

JIB, the face, or a person's expression ; 

" the cut of his jib," i e. 

his peculiar appearance. The sail of a ship, which in position 

and shape corresponds to the nose on a person's face. 

See GIB. Sea. 

JIB, or JIBBER, a horse that starts or shrinks. 

it in the sense of a worn out horse. 

Skakespere uses 

JIBB, the tongue. Gipsey and Hindoo. 

JIFFY. " in a jiffy," in a moment. 

JIGGER, a secret still, illicit spirits. Scotch. 

JIGGER, " I'm jiggered if you will," a common form of mild 

swearing.— See snigger. 

JIGGER, a door ; " dub the jigger," shut the door. Ancient 

cant, gygek. In billiards the bridge on the table is often 

termed the jigger. 

JIGGER-DUBBERS, term applied to jailors or turnkeys. 

JILT, a crowbar or housebreaking implement. 

JINGO, " by JINGO," a common form of oath, said to be a 

corruption of St. Ginyoulph.— Vide Halliwell. 

JOB, a short piece of work, a prospect of emjiloyment. Johnson 

describes job as a low word, without etymology. It is, and 

was, however, a cant word, and a job, two centuries ago, 

was an arranged robbery. Even at the present day it is 

mainly confined to the streets, in the sense of employment 

for a short time. Amongst undertakers a job signifies a 

funeral; "to do a job," conduct any one's funeral; "by 

the JOB," i.e.. piece work, as opposed to


Sir Robert Peel) from Joseph Hume, the late respected 

M.P. The explanation is thus given in Hawkins' History of 

the Silver Coinage of England. 

" These pieces are said to have owed their existence to the pressing 

instance of Mr. Hume, from whence they, for some time, bore 

the nickname of jobys. As they were very convenient to pay 

short cab fares, the Hon. M.P. was extremely unpopular with 

the drivers, who frequently received only a groat where otherwise 

they would have received a sixpence without any demand for 

change." The term originated with the London cabmen, who 

have invented many others. 

JOG-TROT, a slow but regular trot, or pace. 

JOGUL, to play up, at cards or other game. Spanish, juoab. 

JOHN THOMAS, a generic for " flunkies,"—footmen popularly 

represented with large calves and bushy whiskers. 

JOLLY, a word of praise, or favourable notice ; "chuck Harry a 

JOLLY, Bill !" i.e., go and praise up his goods, or buy of him, 

and speak well of the article, that the crowd standing around 

his stall may think it a good opportunity to lay out their 

money. " Chuck a jolly," literally translated, is to throw 

a shout or a good word. 

JOLLY, a Royal Marine. See horse marine. 

•TOMER, a sweetheart, or favourite girl.— (See blower. 

JORDAN, a chamber utensiL — (Saa;o». 

JOSKIN, a countryman. 

JUG, a prison, or jail. 

JUMP, to seize, or rob ; "to jump a man,"' to pounce upon him, 

and either rob or maltreat him; " to jump a house," to rob 

it.— êeoo. 

JUNIPER, gin.—Household Words, No. 183. 

JUNK, salt beef. 

See old horse. 

KEEL-HAULING, a good thrashing or mauling, rough treatment,—from 

the old nautical custom of punishing offenders 

by throwing them overboard with a rope attached and 

hauling them up from under the ship's keel. 

KEEP IT UP, to prolong a debauch, or the occasion of a rejoicing—a 

metaphor drawn from the game of shuttlecock. 

Grose. 

KEN, a house. AncietU cant. Khan, Gipsey and Oriental. 

*,* All slang and cant words which end in ken, such as 

SPIELKEN, SPINIKEN, BAWDYKEN, Or BOOZINGKEN, refer to 

houses, and are partly of Gipsey origin. 

KEN-CRACKERS, housebreakers.


KENNEDY, to strike or kill with a poker. A St. Giles' term, 

so given from a man of that name being killed by a poker. 

Frequently shortened to neddy. 

KENT RAG, or clout, a cotton handkerchief. 

KERTEVER-CARTZO, the venereal disease. From the Lingua 

Franca, cattivo, bad, and cazzo, the male generative 

organ. 

KETCH, or jack ketch, the popular name for a public hang- 

that name who officiated in 

man—derived from a person of 

the reign of Charles II. See Macaulay's History of England, 

p. 626. 

KIBOSH, nonsense, stuff,humbug; "it's all kibosh," i. c, palaver 

or nonsense ; 

" to put on the kibosh," to run down, slander, 

degrade, &c. See bosh. 

KICK, a moment " 

; I'll be there in a kick," i. e., in a minute. 

KICK, a sixpence ; 

" two and a kick," two shillings and sixpence. 

KICK, a pocket. 

KICK THE BUCKET, to die. -Norfolk. 

According to Forby, 

a metaphor tal;en from the descent of a well or mine, which 

is of course absurd. The Rev. E. S. Taylor supplies me 

with the following note from his MS. additions to the work 

of the East-Anglian lexicographer : 

" The allusion is to the way in which a slanshtered pi» is hun^ up, 

viz., by passing the ends of a bent piece of woud behind the 

tendons of the hind legs, and so suspending it to a hook in a 

beam above. This piece of wood is locally termed a bucket, and 

80 by a coarse metaphor the phrase came to signify to die. 

Compare the Norfolk phrase " as wrong as a bucket." 

The natives of the West Indies have converted the expression 

into KICKERABOO. 

KICK-UP, a noise or disturbance. 

KICK UP, "to KICK UP a row," to create a tumult. 

KICKSHAWS, trifles; 

substantial. Corruption of the French, quelques choses. 

made, or French dishes—not English, or 

KICKSIES, trousers. 

KICKSY, troublesome, disagreeable. 

KID, an infant, or child. 

KID, to joke, to quiz, to hoax anybody, 

KID-ON, to entice, or incite a person on to the perpetration of 

an act. 

KID-RIG, cheating children in the streets sent on errands, or 

entrusted with packages. Nearly obsolete.

The 

164 A DICTIONABY OF 

KIDDEN, a low lodging house for boya. 

KIDDIER, a pork-butcher. 

KIDDILY, fashionably, or showily ; 

dressed. 

" kiddilt togg'd," showily 

KIDDLEYWINK, a small shop where they retail the commodities 

of a village store. Also, a loose woman. 

KIDDY, a man or boy. Formerly a low thief. 

KIDDYISH, frolicsome, jovial. 

" Think on the kiddtish spree we had on such a day." 

RaialaWt Diary, 1820. 

KIDMEN'T, a pocket-handkerchief fastened to the pocket, and 

partially hung out to entrap thieves. 

KIDXAPPER, one who steals children or adults. From kid, a 

child, and xab (corrupted to nap), to steal, or seize. 

KIDNEY, " of that kidney," of such a stamp : 

" strange 

KIDNEY, " odd humour; "two of a kidney," two persons 

of a sort, or as like as two peas, i.e., resembling eacti other 

like two kidneys in a bunch. Old. "Attempt to put their 

hair out of kidney."— Terrce Filiua, 1763. 

KIDSMAX, one who trains boys to thieve and pick pockets successfully. 

KILKENNY CAT, a popular simile for a voracious or desperate 

animal or person, from the story of the two cats in that 

county, who are said to have fought ami bitten each other 

until a small portion of the tail of one of them alone 

remained. 

KILLING, bewitching, fascinating. The term is akin to the 

phrase " dressing to death." 

KIMBO, or A KiMBO, holding the arms in a bent position from 

the body, and resting the hands upon the hips, in a bullying 

attitude. Said to be from A scaEUBO, Italian ; but more 

' 

probably from klmbaw, the old cant for beating, or bullying. 

See Grose. 

KINCHIN, a child. Old cant. From the German diminutive* 

kindchen, a baby. 

KINCHIN COVE, a man who robs children ; a little man. 

Ancient cant. 

KINGSMAN, the favourite coloured neckerchief of the costermongers. 

women wear them thrown over their 

shoulders. With both sexes they are more valued than any 

other article of clothing. A coster's caste, or position, is at 

stake, he imagines, if his kingsman is not of the most 

approved pattern. ^Yhen he fights, his kingsman is tied

MODEKN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 165 

either around his waist as a beU, or as a garter around his 

leg. This very singular partiality for a peculiar coloured 

neckcloth was doubtless derived from the Gipseys, and 

probably refers to an Oriental taste or custom long forgotten 

by these vagabonds. A singular similarity of taste for 

certain colours exists amongst the Hindoos, Gipseys, and 

London costermongers. Red and yellow (or orange) are the 

great favourites, and in these hues the Hindoo selects his 

turban and his robe ; the Gipsey his breeches, and his wife 

her shawl or gown ; and the costermonger his plush waistcoat 

and favourite kingsman. Amongst either class, when 

a fight takes place, the greatest re£?ard is paid to the 

favourite coloured article of dress. The Hindoo lays aside 

his turban, the Gipsey folds up his scarlet breeches or coat, 

whilst the pugilistic costei-monger of Covent Garden or 

Billingsgate, as we have just seen, removes his favourite 

neckerchief to a part of his body, by the rules of the " ring," 

comparatively out of danger. Amongst the various patterns 

of kerchiefs worn by the wandering tribes of London, red 

and yellow are the oldest and most in fashion. Bine, intermixed 

with spots, is a late importation, probably from the 

Navy, through sporting characters. 

KIXG'S PICTURES (now, of course, queen s pictures), money. 

KISKY, drunk, fuddled. 

KISS CURL, a small curl twisted on the temple. See bowcatcher. 

KISS-ME-QUICK, the name given to the very small bonnets 

worn by females since 1850. 

KITE, see fly the kite. 

KNACKER, an old horse; a horse slaughterer.—

• 


KNOCK DOWK", or knock me down, strong ale. 

KNOCK OFF, to give over, or abandon. A saying used by 

workmen about dinner, or other meal times, for upwards of 

two centuries. 

KNOCKED UP, tired, jaded, used up, done for. In the United 

States, amongst females, the phrase is equivalent to being 

enceinte, so that Eoglishmen often unconsciously commib 

themselves when amongst our Yankee cousins. 

KNOCK-IN, the game of loo. 

KNOCK-OUTS, or knock-ins, disreputable persons who visit 

auction rooms and unite to buy the articles at their own 

prices. One of their number is instructed to buy for the 

rest, and after a few small bids as blinds to the auctioneer 

and bystanders, the lot is knocked down to the knock-out 

bidders, at a nominal price— the competition to result from 

an auction being thus frustrated and set aside. At the conclusion 

of the sale the goods are paid for, and carried to 

some neighbouring public house, where they are re-sold or 

KNOCKED-OUT, and the difference between the first purchase 

and the second—or tapi'oom knock-out — is divided 

amongst the gang. As generally happens with iU-gotten 

gains, the money soon finds its way to the landlord's pocket, 

and the knock-out is rewarded with a red nose or a bloated 

face. Cunning tradesmen join the knock-outs when an 

opportunity for money making presents itself. The lowest 

description of knock-outs, fellows with more tongue than 

capital, are termed babes,—which see. 

KNOCKING-SHOP, a brothel, or disreputable house frequented 

by prostitutes. 

KNOWING, a slang term for sharpness ; 

" knowing codger," or 

" a knowing blade," one who can take you in, or cheat you, 

in any transaction you may have with him. It implies also 

deep cunning and foresight, and generally signifies dishonesty. 

"Who, on a spree with black eyed Sal, his blowen. 

So swell, so prime, so nutty and so knowing." 

Don Juan. 

KNOWLEDGE BOX, the head.— Pugilistic. 

KNUCKLE, to pick pockets after the most approved method. 

KNUCKLE TO, or knuckle under, to yield dr Bubmit» 

- 

KNUCKLER, a pickpocket. 

;,: 

KNULLER, old term for a chimney-sweep,wlio solicited jobs 

by ringing a bell. From the Saxon, cntllaN, to knell, or 

sound a bell.— iSec QUERiEB,

ut 


1G7 

KOTOOINQ, misapplied flattery. Illustrated London News, 

7th January, 1860. 

KYPSEY, a basket. 

LA ! a euphuistic rendering of lord, common amongst females 

and very precise persons ; 

imagined by many to be a corruption 

of LOOK ! this is a mistake. Sometimes pronounced 

LAW, or LAWKS. 

LACING, a beating. From the phrase " I'll lace your jacket." 

— L' Estrange. Perhaps to give a beating with a lace or lash. 

LADDER, " can't see a hole in a laddeb," said of any one who 

is intoxicated. 

LADDLE, a lady. Term with chimney-sweeps on the 1st of 

May. A correspondent siiggests that the term may come 

from the brass ladles for collecting money, always carried by 

the sweeps' ladies. 

LAG, a returned transport, or ticket-of- leave convict. 

LAG, to void urine. 

Ancient cant, 

LAGGED, transported for a crime. 

LAGGER, a sailor, 

LAME DUCK, a stock jobber who speculates beyond his capital 

and cannot pay his losses. Upon retiring from the Exchange 

he is said to 

" waddle out of the Alley." 

LAMMING, a beating. Old English, lam ; used by Beaumont 

and Fletcher. 

LAND LUBBER, sea term for a landsman." See loafer. 

LAND-SHARK, a sailor's definition of a lawyer. 

LAP THE GUTTER, to get drunk. 

LARK, fun, a joke ; 

" let's have a jolly good lark," let us have 

a piece of fun. Mayhew calls it " a convenient word covering 

much mischief." Anglo Saxon, lac, sport ; but more 

probably from the nautical term skylarking, i.e., mounting 

to the highest yards and sliding down the ropes for amusement, 

which is allowed on certain occasions. 

LARRUP, to beat, or thrash. 

" hiding."—/ria/t. 

LARRUPING, a good beating or 

LATCHPAN, the lower lip— properly a dripping pan; "to hang 

one's LATCHPAN," to pout, be sulky. 

Norfolk. 

LAVENDER, " to be laid up in lavender," in pawn ; or, when 

a person is out of the way for an especial purpose. 

Old. 

LAY, to watch ; 

" on the lay," on the look oub — Shakespere. 

LED CAPTAIN, a fashionable spunger, a swell who, by artifice


ingratiates himself into the goud graces of the master of the 

house, and lives at his table. 

LEAHY, to look, or be watchful; shy. Old cant, 

LEARY, flash, or knowing. 

LEARY BLOAK, a person who dresses showily. 

LEATHER, to beat or thrash. From the leather belt worn by 

soldiers and policemen, often used as a weapon in street 

rows. 

LEAVING SHOP, an unlicensed house where goods are taken 

in to pawn at exorbitant rates of interest. Daily Telegraph, 

1st August, 1859. 

LEEF, " I'd as leep do it as not," i.e., I have no objection to 

do it. Corruption of lief, or leave. Old English, lief, 

inclined to. 

LEG IT, to run; leg bail, to run off; "to give a leg," to 

assist, as when one mounts a horse " 

; making a leg," a 

countryman's bow, — projecting the leg fmm behind as a 

balance to the head bent forward. Shakespere. 

LEGGED, in irons. 

LEGS, or BLACKLEGS, disreputable sporting characters, and racecourse 

habitues. 

LEGS OF MUTTON", inflated street term for sheeps* trotters, or 

feet. 

LENGTH, forty-two lines of a dramatic composition.— yAea

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WOEDS, 169 

you," i.e., be finished first. Signifies, also, to whip, 

chastise, or conquer. Ancient cant, lycke. 

LIFER, a convict who is sentenced to transportation /or life. 

LIFT, to steal, pick pockets; "there's a clock been lifted," 

said when a watch has been stolen. The word is as old as 

the Border forays, and is used by ShaJcespere. Shoplifter 

is a recognised term. 

LIGHT, " to be able to get a light at a house" is to get credit. 

LIGHT- FEEDERS, silver spoons. 

LIGHTS, a "cake," a fool, a soft or "doughy" person. 

LIGHTS, the eyes. 

LIGHTNING, gin ; 

" flash o' lightning," a glass of gin. 

LIMB OF THE LAW, a lawyer, or clerk articled to that 

profession. 

LINE, calling, trade, profession ; 

" what line are you in ?" 

"the building line." 

LINGO, talk, or language. Slang is termed lingo amongst the 

lower orders. Italian, lingua. 

LIP, bounce, impudence ; 

" come, none o' yer lip !" 

LIQUOR, or liquor up, to drink drams. Americanism. In 

LIQUOR, tipsy, or drunk. 

LITTLE GO, the " Previous Examination," at Cambridge the 

first University examination for undergraduates in their 

second year of matriculation. 

term is the smalls. 

At Oxford, the corresponding 

LITTLE SNAKES- MAN, a little thief, who is generally passed 

through a small aperture to open any door to let in the 

rest of the gang. 

LIVE-STOCK, vermin of the insect kind. 

LOAFER, a lazy vagabond. Generally considered an Americanism. 

LoPER, or loafer, however, was in general use 

as a cant term in the early part of the last century. Landloper, 

was a vagabond who begged in Ihe attire of a sailor; 

and the sea phrase, land lubber, was doubtless synonymous.—&« 

i/te Times, 3rd November, 1859, for a reference 

to loafer. 

LOAVER, money. 

LOB, a till, 

LOBB, the head. 

See louk. 

or money drawer. 

Pugilistic. 

LOBLOLLY, gruel. Old : used by Markham as a sea term for 

grit gruel, or hasty pudding.


LOBLOLLY BOY, a derisive term for a surgeon's mate in the 

navy, 

LOBS, words. Gipsey. 

LOBSTER, a soldier. A policeman from the colour of his coat 

is styled an waboiled, or raw lobster. 

LOBSTER-BOX, a barrack, or military station. 

LOLLY, the head. See hOBTi.— Pugilistic, 

LONG-BOW, "to draw," or "shoot with the longbow,"' to 

exaggerate. 

LONG-TAILED-ONES, bank notes, or flimsies, for a large 

amount. 

LOOF FAKER, a chimney-sweep. See flue faker. 

LOOSE. See on the loose. 

LOOT, swag, or plunder. Hindoo. 

LOP-SIDED, uneven, one side larger than the other. Old. 

LOPE, this old form of leap is often heard in the streets. 

LORD, " drunk as a lord," a common saying, probably referring 

to the facilities a man of foi-tune has for such a gratification 

; 

perhaps a sly sarcasm at the supposed habits of 

the " haristocracy." 

LORD, a hump- backed man. See my lord. 

LORD OF THE MANOR, a sixpence. 

LOUD, flashy, showy, as applied to dress or manner. See bags. 

LOUR, or lowr, money; "gammy lowr," bad money. 

Ancient cant, and Gipsey- 

LOUSE-TRAP, a small tooth comb. Old cant.— See catch 'em 

ALIVE. 

LOVE, at billiards "five to none" would be " five love,"— 

LOVE being the same as when one player does not score at all. 

LOVEAGE, tap 

droppings, a mixture of spirits, sweetened and 

sold to habitual dram-drinkers, principally females. Called 

also ALLS. 

LUBBER, a clown, or fool, Ancient cant, lubbare. 

LUBBER'S HOLE, an aperture in the maintop of a ship, by 

which a timid climber may avoid the difficulties of the 

" futtock shrouds — " hence, a sea term for any cowardly way 

of evading duty, 

LUCK, " down on one's luck," wanting money, or in difiBculty, 

LUCKY, " to cut one's lucky," to go away quickly, 

LUG, " my togs are in lug," i.e., in pawn. 

See strike.

MODERN SLANa AND CANT WORDS. 171 

LUG, the ear. 

Scotch. 

LUG, to pull, or slake thirst. 

Old. 

LUG CHOVEY, a pawnbroker's shop. 

LULLY PRIGGEllS, rogues who steal wet clothes hung on lines 

to dry. 

LUMBER, to pawn or pledge. Houselwld Words, No. 183. 

LUMMY, jolly, first-rate. 

LUMPER, a contractor. On the river, more especially a person 

who contracts to deliver a ship laden with timber. 

LUMP THE LIGHTER, to be transported. 

LUMP WORK, work contracted for, 

or taken by the lump. 

LUMPERS, low thieves who haunt wharves and docks, and rob 

vessels ; 

persons who sell old goods for new. 

LUMPY, intoxicated. 

LUNAN, a girl. — Gipsey. 

LURK, a sham, swindle, or representation of feigned distress. 

LURKER, an impostor who travels the country with false certificates 

of fires, shipwrecks, &c. 

LUSH, intoxicating drinks of all kinds, but gcusral'y used for 

beer. The Glohe, 8th September, 1859, says " lu8H and 

its derivatives claim Lushington, the brewer, as sponsor." 

LUSH, to drink, or get drunk. 

LUSH-CRIB, a public house. 

LUSHINGTON, a drunkard, or one who continually soaks himself 

with drams, and pints of beer. Some year? since there 

was a " Lushington Club " in Bow-street, Covent Garden. 

LUSHY, intoxicated. Johnson says "opposite to pale," so red 

with diink. 

MAB, a cab, or hackney coach. 

MACE, a dressy swindler who victimizes tradesmen. 

MACE, to spunge, swindle, or beg, in a polite way " 

; give it him 

(a shopkeeper) on the mace," i.e., obtain goods on credit and 

never pay for them ; also termed " striking the mace." 

MADZA, half. Italian, mezza. This word enters into combination 

with various cant phrases, mainly taken from the 

Llnfjua Franca, as madza caroon, half-a-crown, two-andsixpence 

; madza saltee, a halfpenny [see saltee] ; madza. 

POONA, half-a-sovereign ; madza round the bull, halfa 

pound of steak, &c.


MAG, a halfpenny. Ancient cant, make. Meggs were formerly 

guineas. B. M. Carew. 

MAG, to talk. A corruption of nag.— Old ; hence magpie. 

MAGGOTTY, fanciful, fidgetty. Whims and fancies were 

formerly termed maggots, from the popular belief that a 

maggot in the brain was the cause of any odd notion or 

caprice a person might exhibit. 

MAGSMAN", a street swindler, who watches for countrymen and 

" guUable" persons. 

MAHOGANY, "to have one's feet under another man's mahogany," 

to sit at his table, be supported on other than one's 

own resources ; 

" amputate your mahogany," i.e., go away, 

or " cut your stick." 

MAIN-TOBY, the highway, or the main road. 

MAKE, a successful theft, or swindle. 

MAKE, to steal. 

MAKE UP, personal appearance. Theatrical. 

MANG, to i^X^.—Scotch. 

MARE'S NEST, a Cockney discovery of marvels, which turn 

out no marvels at all. An old preacher in Cornwall, up to 

very lately employed a different version, viz. " 

: a cow 

calving up in a tree." 

MARINATED, transported ;—from the salt- pickling fish undergo 

in Cornwall. Old cant. 

MARINE, or makine recruit, an empty bottle. 

This expre.'jsion 

having once been used in the presence of an officer of 

marines, he was at first inclined to take it as an insult, 

until some one adroitly appeased his wrath by remarking 

that no ofience could be meant, as all that it could possibly 

imply was, " one who had done his duty, and was ready to 

do it again." See horse marine.— Naval. 

MARRIAGE LINES, a maniage certificate. 

MARROWSKYING.—-Sec medical greek. 

Provincial. 

MARYGOLD, one million sterling. See plum. 

MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS, when the leader of the 

House of Commons goes through the doleful operation of 

devoting to extinction a number of useful measures at the 

end of the session, for want of time to pass them.— Vide 

Times, 20th July, 1859 : Mr. C. Foster, on altering the 

time of the legislative sessions. Parliamentary slang. 

MATE, the term a coster or low person applies to a friend, 

partner, or companion " 

; me and my mats did so and so,"

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WOrwDS. 173 

is a common phrase with a low Londoner.—Originally a 

Sea term. 

MAULEY, a signature, from mauley, a fist; " put your fist to 

it," is sometimes said by a low tradesman when desiring a 

fellow trader to put his signature to a bill or note. 

MAULEY, a fist, that with which one strikes as with a mall.— 

PtigiUstic. 

MAUND, to beg " 

; maundering on the fly,'" begging of people 

in the streets. Old cant. Maung, to beg, is a term in use 

amongst the Gipseys, and may also be found in the Hindoo 

Vocabulary. Maund, however, is pure Anglo Saxon, from 

MAND, a basket. Compare " beg," which is derived from 

BAG, a curious parallel. 

MAW, the mouth " 

; hold your maw," cease talking. 

MAX, gin ; max-upon tick, gin obtained upon credit. 

M. B. COAT, i.e., Mark of the Beast, a name given to the long 

surtout worn by the clergy,—a modern Puritan form of 

abuse, said to have been accidentally disclosed to a Tractarian 

customer by a tailor's orders to his foreman. 

MEALY-MOUTHED, plausible, deceitful. 

MEDICAL GREEK, the slang used by medical students at the 

hospitals. At the London University they have a way of 

disguising Euglish, described by Albert Smith as the Gowerstreet 

1/ialect, which consists in transposing the initials of 

words, e.g-, " poke a smipe " —smoke a pipe, "flutter-by"— 

butterfly, &c. This disagreeable nonsense is often termed 

MARROWSKYiNG. — See GREEK, St. Giles' Greek, or the 

" J^gidiac" dialect. Language of ziph, &c. 

MENAGERY, the orchestra of a theatre. 

Theatrical. 

MIDDY, abbreviation of midshipman. - Naval. 

MIDGE NET, a lady's veil. 

MIKE, to loiter; or, as a costermonger defined it, to "lazy 

about." The term probably originated at St. Giles', which 

used to be thronged with Irish labourers (Mike being so 

common a term with them as to become a generic appellation 

for Irishmen with the vulgar) who used to loiter about 

the Pound, and lean against the public-houses in the 

" Dials" waiting for hire. 

MILKY ONES, white linen rags. 

MILL, a fight, or set to. Ancient cant, myll, to rob. 

MILL, to fight or beat. 

MILL, the treadmiW, prison.


MILL-TOG, a shirt—most likely tlie prison garment. 

MISH, a shirt, or chemise. 

From comjiission, the Ancient cant 

fcr a shirt, afterwards shortened to k'mish or smish, and 

then to insH. French, chemise ; Italian, camicia. 

" With his snowy cahesb and his shaggy capote." liyrmi. 

MITTENS, âtB.— Pugilistic. 

MIZZLE, to run away, or decamp ; to disappear as in a mist. 

From MIZZLE, a drizzling rain ; a Scotch mist. 

" And then one mizzling Michaelmas night 

The Count he uizzled too." Hood. 

MOB. Swift informs us, in his A rt of Polite Conversation, that 

MOB was, in his time, the slang abbreviation of Mohility, 

just as NOB is of Nobility at the present day. See school. 

MOBILITY, the populace ; or, according to Burke, the " great 

unwashed." Johnson calls it a cant term, although Swift 

notices it as a proper expression. 

MOBS, companions ; mobsmen, dressy swindlers. 

MOKE, a donkey. Gipsey. 

MOKO, a name given by sportsmen to pheasants killed by mistake 

in partridge shooting during September, before the 

pheasant shooting comes in. They pull out their tails, and 

roundly assert they are no pheasants at all, but moko3. 

MOLL, a girl; nickname for Mary. Old cant. 

MOLL'D, followed, or accompanied by a woman. 

MOLLISHER, a low girl or woman ; 

generally a female cohabiting 

with a man, and jointly getting their living by thieving. 

MOLLSACK, a reticule, or market basket. 

MOLL-TOOLER, a female pickpocket. 

MOLLYCODDLE, an effeminate man ; one who caudles amongst 

the women, or does their work. 

MOLLYGRUBS, or mulligrubs, stomach-ache, or sorrow 

which to the costermonger is much the same, as he believes, 

like the ancients, that the viscera is the seat of all 

feeling. 

MOLROWING, " out on the spree," in company with so-called 

gay women." In allusion to the amatory serenadings of the 

Loudon cats. 

MONEEEER, a persons name or signature. 

MONKEY, spirit, or ill temper " 

; to get one's monkey up," to 

rouse his passion. A man is said to have his monkey up, 

or the monkey on his back, when he is " riled" or out of 

temper ; also to have his back or hump up.


- 

MONKEY, a padlock. 

MONKEY, the instrument which drives a rocket. Army. 

MONKEY, £500. 

MONKEY WITH A LONG TAIL, a mortgage.— Ze^raZ. 

MONKEY'S ALLOWANCE, to get blows instead of alms, more 

kicks than half-pence. 

MONKERY, the country, or rural districts. Old word for a 

quiet, or monastic life. Hall. 

MOOCH, to sponge ; to obtrude yourself upon friends just when 

they are about to sit down to dinner, or other lucky time 


MOUNTER, a false fewearer. Derived from the borrowed clothes 

men used to MOUNT, or dress in, when going to swear for a 

Consideration. 

MOUTHPIECE, a lawyer, or counseL 

MOVE, a " dodge," or cunning trick " 

; up to a move or two," 

acquainted with tricks. 

MRS. JONES, the house of office, a water-closet. 

MRS. HARRIS and »IRS. GAMP, nicknames of the Morning 

Herald and Standard newspapers, wliile united under the 

proprietoirship of Mr. Baldwin. Mrs. Gamp, a monthly 

nurse, was a character in Mr. Charles Dickens' popular novel 

of Martin Chuzzlewit, who continually quoted an imaginary 

Mrs. Harris in attestation of the supenority of her qualifications, 

and the infallibility of her opinions ; and thus 

afiforded a parallel to the two newspapers, who appealed to 

each other as independent authorities, being all the while 

the production of the same editorial staff. 

MUCK, to beat, or excel " 

; it's no use, luck's set in him ; he'd 

MDCK a thousand." Mayhew, vol. i, p. 18. To run a muck, 

or GO A MUCKER, to rush headlong into certain ruin. From 

a certain religious phrenzy, which is common among the 

Malays, causing one of them, kreese in hand, to dash into 

a crowd and devote every one to death he meets with, until 

he is himself killed, or fsdls from exhaustion Malay, amok, 

slaughter. 

MUCK OUT, to clean out,—often applied to one utterly ruining 

an adversary in gambling From the Provincial muck, dirt. 

MUCK-SXIPE, one who has been "mucked out,' or b^gared, 

at gambling. 

MUCKENDEtl, or MUCKENGER,apocket handkerchief.— OW. 

MDDFOG, "The British Association for the Promotion of 

Science."— University. 

MUD -LARKS, men and women who, with their clothes tucked 

above knee, grovel througU the mud on the banks of the 

Thames, when the tide is low, for silver spoous, old bottles, 

pieces of iron, coal, or any articles of the least value, deposited 

by the retiring tide, either from passing ships or the 

sewers. Occasionally those men who cleanse the sewers, 

with great boots and sou' wester hats. 

MUFF, a silly, or weak-minded person ; muff has been defined 

to be "a soft thing that holds a lady'a hand without 

squeezing it." 

MUFFIN-WORRY, an old ladies' tea party.


« 

MUFTI, the civilian dress of a naval or military officer when off 

duty. Anglo Indian. 

MUG, to fight, or chastise. 

MUG, " to MUG oneself," to get tipsy. 

MUG, the mouth, or face.— OW. 

MUGGING, a thrashing,— synonymous with slogging, both 

terms of the " ring," and frequently used by fighting men. 

MUGGY, drunk. 

MUG-UP, to paint one's face. Theatrical. To "cram" for an 

examination. Army. 

MULL, " to make a moll of it," to spoil anything, or make a 

fool of oneself. Gipsey. 

MULLIGRUBS.— Vide molltgrubs. 

MULTEE KERTEVER, very hsid.—Italian, molto cattivo. 

MUMMER, a performer at a travelling theatre — Ancient. 

Rustic performera at Christmas in the West of England. 

MUMPER, a beggar. Gipsey. Possibly a corniption of mummeb. 

MUNDUNGUS, ti-ashy tobacco. Spanish, mondongo, black 

pudding. 

MUNGARLY, bread, food. Mung is an old word for mixed 

food, but mungablt is doubtless derived from the LinguM 

Franca, mangiar, to eat.—See the following. 

MUNGARLY CASA, a baker's shop ; evidently a corruption of 

some Lingua Franca phrase for an eating house. The well 

known " Nix mangiare" stairs at Malta derive their name 

from the endless beggars who lie there and shout nix 

MANGIARE, i.e., " nothing to eat," to excite the compassion 

of the English who land there,—an expression which exhibits 

remarkably the mongrel composition of the Lingua 

FroMca, mangiare being Italian, and Nix an evident importation 

from Trieste, or other Austrian seaport. 

MUNGING, or " mounqing," whining, begging, muttering. 

North. 

MUNS, the mouth. German, mund.— Old cant. 

MURERK, the mistress of the house. See bdrerk. 

MURKARKER, a 

monkey,—vulgar cockney pronunciation of 

macauco, a species of monkey. Jackey Macauco was the 

name of a fimous fighting monkey, which used about thirty 

years ago to display his prowess at the Westminster pit, 

where, after having killed many dogs!, he was at last 

" chawed up " by a bull tex'rier. 

N


MURPHY, a potato. Probably from the Irish national likiug 

for potatoes, murphy being a common Burname amongst the 

Irish. See mike. Muephies {edible) are sometimes called 

DUNNAMANS. 

MURPHY, " in the arms of murphy," i.e., fast asleep. Corruption 

of MORPHEUS. 

MUSH, an umbrella. Contraction of mushroom, 

MUSH, (or mushroom) FAKER, an itinerant mender of umbrellas. 

MUSLIN, a woman or girl ; 

" he picked up a bit of MUSLIN, 

MUTTON, a lewd woman. Shakespere. 

MUTTON-WALK, the saloon at Drury Lane Theatre, 

MUZZLE, to fight or thrash. 

MUZZLE, the mouth. 

MUZZY, mtox\.ca.ieA.—Household Words, No. 183. 

MY AUNT, a water-closet, or house of office. 

MY LORD, a nickname given to a hunchback. 

MY TULIP, a term of endearment used by the lower orders to 

persons and animals " 

; kim up, my tulip," as the coster said 

to his donkey when thrashing him with an ash stick. 

MY UNCLE, the pawnbroker, — generally used when any person 

questions the whereabouts of a domestic article, " Oh ! only 

at MY uncle's" is the reply. Up the spout has the same 

meaning. 

NAB, to catch, to seize; "nab the rust," to take offence. 

Ancient, fourteenth century. 

NABOB, an Eastern prince, a retired Indian official,—hence a 

slang term for a capitalist. 

NAIL, to steal, or capture; "paid on the nail," i.e., ready 

money; nailed, taken up, or caught— probably in allusion 

to the practice of hailing bad money to the counter. We 

say " as dead as a door-nail ;"—why ? Shakespere has 

the expression in Henry IV. 

"Fahtoff. What ! is the old king dead? 

Pistol. As nail in door." 

A correspondent thinks the expression is only alliterative 

humour, and compares as " Flat as a Flounder," " straight 

as a soldier," &c. 

NAM, a policeman. Evidently back slang. 

NAMBY PAMBY, particular, over nice, effeminate. This, I 

think, was of Pope's invention, and first applied by him to

MODERN SLANa AND CANT WORDS. 179 

the affected short-lined verses addressed by Ambrose 

Phillips to Lord Carteret's infant children. See Johnsons 

Life of Pope. 

NAMUS, or namous, some one, i.e., "be off, somebody is coming." 

Back slang, but general. See vamos. 

NANNY-SHOP, a disreputable house. 

NANTEE, not any, or " I have none." Italian, nibnte, nothing. 

— See DINARLY. 

NANTEE PALAVER, no conversation, i.e., hold your tongue. 

— Lingua Franca. — See palaver. 

NAP, or NAB, to take, steal, or receive " 

; you'll nap it," i.e., 

you will catch a beating — North; also old cant. Bulwer's 

! 

Paul Clifford. 

NAP, or NAPPER, a hat. From nab, a hat, cap, or head. Old 

cant. 

NAP ONE'S BIB, to cry, shed tears, or carry one's point. 

NAP THE REGULARS, to divide the booty. 

NAP THE TEAZE, to be privately whipped in prison. 

NARK, a person in the pay of the police ; a common informer; 

one who gets his living by laying traps for publicans, &c. 

NARK, to watch, or look after, " nark the titter ;" watch the 

girl. 

NARP, a s\iii-i.—Scotch. 

NARY ONE, provincial for 

NASTY, ill 

ne'er a one, neither. 

tempered, cross grained. 

NATION, very, or exceedingly. Corruption of damnation. 

NATTY, pretty, neat, WAy.-Ôld. 

NATURAL, an idiot, a simpleton. 

NECK, to swallow. Neck-oil, drink of any kind. 

NECK OR NOTHING, desperate.—iJaciH*/ phrase. 

NEDDY, a life preserver.—Contraction of Kennedy, the name 

of the first man, it is said in St. Giles', who had his head 

broken by a poker.— Vide Mornings at Bow Street. 

NEDDY, a donkey. 

NEDS, guineas. Halfneds, half-guineas. 

2ÊD STOKES, the four of spades.— iV^w


NEEDY MIZZLER, a shabby person; a tramp who runs away 

without paying for his lodging. 

NESTS, varieties.—OW 

NEVER. TRUST-ME, an ordinary phrase with low Londoners, 

and common in Shakespere's time, vide Twelfth Night. It 

is generally used instead of an oath, calling vengeance on 

the asseverator, if such and such does not come to pass. 

NEWGATE FRINGE, or frill, the collar of beard worn under 

the chin ; so called from its occupying the position of the 

rope when Jack Ketch operates. Another name for it is a 

TYBURN COLLAR. 

NEWGATE KXOCKER, the term given to the lock of hair 

which costermoDgers and thieves usually twist back towards 

the ear. The shape is supposed to resemble the knocker on 

the prisoners' door at Newgate—a resemblance that would 

appear to carry a rather unpleasant suggestion to the wearer. 

Sometimes termed a cobbler's knot, or cow-lick, which see. 

NEWMARKET, in tossing halfpence, when it is agreed that the 

first toss shall be decisive, the play is said to be newmabket. 

NIBBLE, to take, or steal. Nibbler, a petty thief 

NIBS, the master, or chief person; a man with no means but 

high pretensions,—a " shabby genteel." 

NICK, or OLD NICK, the evil spirit. Scandinavian. 

NICK, to hit the mark ; 

" he's nicked it," i.e., won his point. 

NICK-KNACK, a trifle.— Originally cant. 

NIGGLING, trifling, or idling ; taking short steps in walking. 

North. 

NIL, half; half profits, &c. 

NILLY-WILLY, i.e., Nill ye, will ye, whether you will 

familiar version of the Latin, nolens volens. 

or no, a 

NIMMING, stealing. Immediately from the German, nehmen. 

Motherwell, the Scotch poet, thought the old word nim (to 

snatch or pick up) was derived from nam, nam, the tiny 

words or cries of an infant, when eating anything which 

pleases its little palate. A negro proverb has the word : 

" Buckra man nam crab. 

Crab nam buckra man." 

Or, in the buckra man's language 

" White man eat [or steal] the crab, 

And the crab eats the white man." 

NINCOMPOOP, a fool, a hen pecked husband, a " Jerry Sneak." 

—Corruption of non compos mentis.


NINE CORNS, a pipeful of tobacco. 

NINES, "dressed up to the nines," in a showy cr recherche 

manner. 

NINEPENCE, "right as ninepence," all right, right to a 

nicety. 

NIP, to steal, take up quickly. 

NIPPER, a small boy. Old cant for a hoy cut-purse. 

NIX, nothing, " nix my doll," synonymous with nix. Oerman, 

NIGHTS, nothing. See mungarly. 

NIX ! the signal word of school boys to each other that the 

master, or other person in authority, is approaching. 

NIZZIE, a fool, a coxcomb. Old cant, vide Tnumph of Wit. 

NOAH'S ARK, a long closely buttoned overcoat, recently in 

fashion. So named by Punch from the similarity which it 

exhibits to the figure of Noah and his sons in children's toy 

arks. 

NOB, the head Pugilistic; " bob a nob," a shilling a head. 

Ancient cant, neb. Nob is an early English word, and is 

used in the Romance of Kynge Alisaunder (thirteenth 

century) for a head ; originally, no doubt, the same as knob. 

NOB, a person of high position, a " swell," a «o61eman,—of 

which word it may be an abbreviation. See snob. 

NOBBA, nine. Italian, nove ; Spanish, nova,—the b and v 

being interchangeable, as Se6ast(5pol and Sei;ast6pol. 

NOBBA SALTEE, ninepence. Lingua Franca, nove soldi. 

NOBBING, collecting money ; " what nobbings ?" i.e., how 

much have you got ? 

NOBBLE, to cheat, to overreach ; 

to discover. 

NOBBLERS, confederates of thimble-rigs, who play earnestly 

as if strangers to the " RIQ," and thus draw unsuspecting 

persons into a game. 

NOBBY, or nobbish, fine or showy; nobbilt, showily. See 

SNOB for derivatioh. 

NOMMUS, be off.—-See namus. 

NO ODDS, no matter, of no consequence. Latimer's sermon 

before Edward VL 

NOSE, a thief who turns informer, or Queen's evidence ; a spy 

or watch ; 

" on the nose," on the look out. 

NOSE, "to pay through the nose," to pay an extravagant jjrice. 

NOSE-BAGS, visitors at watering places, and houses of refreshment, 

who carry their owu victuals. Term applied by waiters.


NOSE EM, or poqus, tobacco. 

NOSER, a bloody or contused nose. 

Pugilistic. 

NOUSE, comprehension, perception. Old, apparently from the 

Oreek, vovs. 

NUB, a husband. 

NUDDIKIN, the head. 

For Cant Numerals, see under saltee. 

NURSE, a curious term lately applied to competition in omnibuses. 

Two omnibuses are placed on the road to nurse, 

or oppose, each opposition " buss," one before, the other 

behind. Of course the central or nursed buss has very little 

chance, unless it happens to be a favourite with the public. 

Nurse, to cheat, or swindle ; trustees are said to nurse 

property, i.e., gradually eat it up themselves. 

NUT, to be "off one's nut," to be in liquor, or ''all mops and 

brooms." 

NUTS, to be NUTS upon anything or person is to be pleased 

with or fond of it ; a self-satisfied man is said to be nuts 

upon himself. Nutted, taken in by a man who professed 

to be NUTS upon you. 

NUTTY, amorous. 

NYMPH OF THE PAVE {French, pave), a street-walker, a 

girl of the town. 

OAK, the outer door of college rooms ; to " one's oak," 

to be "not at home" to visitors. See sport.— University. 

OBFUSCATED, intoxicated. 

OBSTROPOLOUS, Cockney corruption of obstreperous. 

OCHRE, money, generally applied to gold, for a very obvious 

reason. 

O'CLOCK, or a'clock, "like one o'clock," a favourite comparison 

with the lower orders, implying briskness; "to 

know what o'clock it is," to be wide awake, sharp, and 

experienced. 

ODD MAN, a street or public- house game at tossing. The 

number of players is three. Each tosses up a coin, and if 

two come down head, and one tail, or vice versd, the last is 

odd man, and loses or wins as may have been agreed upon. 

Frequently used to victimise a " flat." If all three be alike, 

then the toss goes for nothing, and the coppers are again 

" shied." 

OD DRAT IT, OD rabbit {Caiman's Broad Chins), od's blood, 

and all other exclamations commencing with oD, are nothing


but softened or suppressed oatbs. Od is a corruption of 

GOD, and DRAT of ROT. Shokcspere. 

OFF AND ON, vacillating; "an off and on kind of a chap," 

one who is always undecided. 

OFF ONE'S FEED, real or pretended want of appetite.— 

Stable slang. 

OFFISH, distant, not familiar. 

OFFICE, " to give the office," to give a hint dishonestly to a 

confederate, thereby enabling him to win a game or bet, 

the profits being shared. 

OGLE, to look, or reconnoitre. 

OGLES, eyes. Old cant. French, (eil. 

OIL OF PALMS, or palm oil, money. 

OINTMENT, medical student slang for butter. 

OLD GOOSEBERRY {see gooseberry), old harry (query, Old 

Hairy ?), old scratch, all synonymes for the devil. 

OLD GOWN, smuggled tea. 

OLD HORSE, salt junk, or beef.—>Sfea. 

OLD TOM, gin. 

OLIVER, the moon; " Oliver don't widdle," i.e., the moon 

does not shine. Nearly obsolete.— Bulwer's Paul Clifford. 

OMEE, a master or landlord " 

; the omee of the cassey's a nark 

on the pitch," the master of the house will not let us perform. 

Italian, uomo, a man; "uoMO della Casa," the 

master of the house. 

ON, " to be ON," in public-house or vulgar parlance, is synonymous 

with getting " tight," or tipsy " 

; it's Saint Monday 

with him, I see he's on again," i.e., drunk as usual, or on 

the road to it. 

ON THE FLY, getting one's living by thieving or other illegitimate 

means; the phrase is applied to men the same as on 

THK loose is to women. 

ON THE LOOSE, obtaining a living by prostitution, in reality, 

on the streets. The term is applied to females only, excepting 

in the case of sprees, when men carousing are 

sometimes said to be on the loose. 

ON THE NOSE, on the watch or look out.— -See nose, 

ON THE SHELF, to be transported. With old maids it has 

another and very different meaning. 

ON THE TILES, out all night " on the spree," or carousing, 

in allusion to the London cats on their amatory excursions.


ONE IN" TEN, a parson. 

ONE-ER, that which stands for one, a blow that requires no 

more. In Dickens' ajnusiag work, the " Marchioness" tells 

Dick Swiveller that " her missus is a one-er at cards." 

ORACLE, " to work the oracle," to plan, manoeuvre, to succeed 

by a wily stratagem. 

OTTER, eightpence. Italian, otto, eight. 

OTTOMY, a thin man, a skeleton, a dwarf. Vulgar pronunciation 

oi Anatomy. Skakespere has 'atomt. 

OUT, a dram glass. The habitue of a gin-shop, desirous of 

treating a brace of friends, calls for a quartern of gin and 

three ouTS, by which he means three glasses which will 

exactly contain the quartern. 

OUT AND OUT, prime, excellent, of the first quality. Out 

AND OUTER, " onc who is of an out and out description," 

UP to anything. 

An ancient MS. has this couplet, which shows the antiquity 

of the phrase 

" The Kyng was good alle aboute, 

And she was wjckcd oute and oute." 

OUT OF COLLAR, out of place,—in allusion to servants. 

When in place, the term is collared up.— Theatrical and 

general. 

OUT ON THE LOOSE, " on the spree," in search of adventures, 

OUT ON THE PICKAROON. Pioarone is Spanish for a 

thief, but this phrase does not necessarily mean anything 

dishonest, but ready for anything in the way of excitement 

to turn up; also to be in seaich of anything profitable. 

OUT-SIDER, a person who does not habitually bet, or is not 

admitted to the " Ring." Also, a horse whose name does 

not appear among the " favourites." 

OVER ! or over the left, i.e., the left shoulder— a common 

exclamation of disbelief in what is being narrated^—implying 

that the results of a proposed plan will be " over 

the left," i.e., in the wrong direction, loss instead of gain. 

OWNED, a canting expression used by the ultra-Evangelicals 

when a popular preacher makes many converts. The converts 

themselves are called his " seals." 

P's AND Q's, particular points, precise behaviour ; 

" mind 

your p's AND q's," be very careful. Originating, according to 

some, from the similarity of p's and q's in the hornbook 

alphabet, and therefore the warning of an old dame to her


pupils ; or, according to others, of a French dancing master 

to his pupils, to mind their pieds (feet) and queues (wigs) 

when making a bow. 

PACK, to go away; "now, then, pack off there," i.e., be off, 

don't stop here any longer. Old, "Make speedetoflee, be 

PACKING and awaie."— Baret's Alvearie, 1580. 

PAD, "to stand pad," to beg with a small piece of paper pinned 

on the breast, inscribed " I'm starving." 

PAD, the highway ; a tramp. LlncolnsMre. 

PAD THE HOOF, to walk, not ride; "padding the hoop on 

the high toby," tramping or walking on the high road. 

" Trudge, plod away o' the hoof." 

Merry Wives, i., 3. 

PADDING KENS, or cbibs, tramps' and boys' lodging houses. 

PADDLE, to go or run away. Household Words, No. 183. 

PADDY, PAT, or paddy whack, an Irishman. 

" I'm PADDY -WHACK, from Bally hack. 

Not long aô turned soldier 

In storm and sack, in front attack. 

None other can be boulder." 

Irish Song. 

PADRE, a clergyman. Anglo Indian. 

PAL, a partner, acquaintance, friend, an accomplice. Oipsey, a 

brother. 

PALAVER, to ask, or talk,—not deceitfully, as the term usually 

signifies; " palaver to the nibs for a shant of bivvy," ask 

the master for a quart of beer. In this sense used by 

tramps.—Derived from French, parler. 

PALL, to detect. 

PALM OIL, or PALM SOAP, money. 

tALMING, robbing shops by pairs,—one thief bargaining with 

apparent intent to purchase, whilst the other watches his 

opportunity to steal. An amusing example of palming 

came off some time since. A man entered a " ready made" 

boot and .shoe shop and desired to be shown a pair of boots, 

—his companion staying outside and amusing himself by 

looking in at the window. The one who required to be 

fresh shod was apparently of a humble and deferential turn, 

for he placed his hat on the floor directly he stepped in the 

shop. Boot after boot was tried on until at last a fit was 

obtained,—when lo, forth came a man, snatched up the 

customer's hat left near the door, and down the street he 

ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Away went the


customer after his hat, and Crispin, standing at the door, 

clapped his hands and shouted " go it, you'll catch him," 

—little thiukiug that it was a concerted trick, and that 

neither his boots nor the customer would ever return. 

Palming sometimes refers to secreting money or rings in 

the hand. 

PAM, the knave of clubs ; or, in street phraseology, Lord Palmerston. 

PANNAM, food, bread. Lingwa Franca, pannen ; Latin, panis ; 

Aiicient cant, tasnam. 

PANNAM-BOUND, stopping the prison food or rations to a 

prisoner, pannam -struck, very hungry. 

PANNIKIN, a small pan. 

PANNY, a house — public or otherwise ; " flash fanny," a 

public-house used by thieves ; panny men, housebreakers. 

PANTILE, a hat. The term pantile is properly applied to the 

mould into which the sugar is poured which is afterwards 

known as "loaf sugar." Thus, pantile, from whence comes 

the phrase "a sugar-loaf hat," originally signified a tall, 

conical hat, in shape similar to that usually repi-esented as 

the head gear of a bandit. From pantile, the more 

modem slang term tile has been derived. Malliwell gives 

pantile shop, a meeting-house. 

PANTILER, a dissenting preacher. 

Probably from the practice 

of the Quakers, and many dissenters, of not removing the 

hat in a place of worship. 

PAPER MAKERS, rag gatherers and gutter rakers— similar to 

the chiffonniers of Paris. Also, those men who tramp 

through the country, and collect rags on the pretence that 

they are agents to a paper mill. 

PAPER WORKERS, the wandering vendors of street literature; 

itreet folk who sell ballads, dying speeches and confessions, 

sometimes termed ednning stationees. 

PARADIS, French slang for the gallery of a theatre, "up amongst 

the GODS," which see. 

PARISH LANTERN, the moon. 

PARNEY, rain ; 

" dowry of parney," a quantity of rain. Anglo- 

Indian slang from the Hindoo, pani, water ; Gipsey, pane. 

Old Indian officers always call brandy and water brandy 

pawnee. 

PASH, to strike ; now corrupted to bash, which see.— Shakes. 

Shoemakers nickname any shopmate 

PASTE-HORN, the nose.


with a large nose "old pastehorn," from the horn in 

which they keep their paste. 

PATENT COAT, a coat with the pockets inside the skirts,— 

termed patent from the difficulty of picking them. 

PATTER, a speech or discourse, a pompous street oration, a 

judge's summing up, a trial. Ancient word for muttering. 

Probably from the Lathi, pater noster, or Lord's Prayer- 

This was said, before the Reformation, in a lotv voice by the 

priest, until he came to, "and lead us not into temptation," 

to which the choir responded, "but deliver us 

from evil." In our reformed Prayer Book this was altered, 

and the Lord's Prayer directed to be said "with a loud 

voice."— J)r. Pusey takes this view of the .derivation in his 

Lette)' to the Bishop of London, p. 78, 1851. Scott uses the 

word twice in Ivanhoe and the Bride of Lammermoor. 

PATTER, to talk. Patter flash, to speak the language of 

thieves, talk cant. 

PATTERERS, men who cry last dying speeches, &c., in tlie 

streets, and those who help off their wares by long 

harangues in the public thoroughfares. These men, to use 

their own term " are the haristocracy of the street sellers," 

and despise the costermongers for their ignorance, boasting 

that they live by their intellect. The public, they say, do not 

expect to receive from them an equivalent for their money 

— they pay to hear them talk. Mayhew. Patterers were 

formerly termed " mountebanks." 

PAWS, hands. 

PAY, to beat a person, or "serve them out." Originally a 

nautical term, meaning to stop the seams of a vessel with 

pitch (French, poix) ; "here's the d 1 to pay, and no 

pitch hot," said when any catastrophe occurs which there is 

no means of averting " 

; to pat over face and eyes, as the 

cat did the monkey ;" " to pat through the nose," to give 

a ridiculous price,—whence the origin? Shakespere usc«) 

PAT in the sense of to beat, or thrash. 

PEACH, to inform against or betray. Webster states that impeach 

is now the modification mostly used, and that peach 

is confined principally to the conversation of thieves and the 

lower orders. 

PEACOCK HORSE, amongst undertakers, is one with a showy 

tail and mane, and holds its head up well, che va favorreggiando, 

See, Italian. 

PEAKING, remnants of cloth.

188 A DICTIOJTARY OP 

PECK, food; "peck and booze," meat and drink. Lincolnshire. 

Ancient cant, pek, meat. 

PECKER, "keep your pecker up," i.e., don't get down-tearted, 

—literally, keep your beak or head well up, "never say die !" 

PECKISH, hungry. Old cant, peckidge, meat. 

PEEL, to strip, or disrobe. Pugilistic. 

PEELER, a policeman; so called from Sir Robert Peel (see 

bobbt) ; 

properly applied to the Irish constabulary rather 

than the City police, the former force having been established 

by Sir Robert Peel. 

PEEPERS, eyes ; 

" painted pbepbhs," eyes bruised or blackened 

from a blow. 

PEERY, suspicious, or inquisitive. 

PEG, brandy and soda water. 

PEG, "to PEQ away," to strike, run, or drive away; "peg a 

hack," to drive a cab " 

; take down a peg or two," to check 

an arrogant or conceited person. 

PEG, a shilling. Scotch. 

PEG-TOPS, the loose trousers now in fashion, small at the ankle 

and swelling upwards, in imitation of the Zouave costume. 

PENNY GAFFS, shops turned into temporary theatres (admission 

one penny), where dancing and singing take place every 

night. Rude pictures of the performers are arranged outside 

to give the front a gaudy and attractive look, and at nighttime 

coloured lamps and transparencies are displayed to 

draw an audience. 

PENNY A-LINER, a contributor of local news, accidents, fires, 

scandal, political and fashionable gossip, club jokes, and 

anecdotes, to a newspaper ; not regularly " on the paper ;'" 

one who is popularly believed to be paid for each contribution 

at the rate of a penny a line, and whose interest is, 

therefore, that his article should be horribly stuffed with 

epithets. 

PENISULAR, or moll tooler, a female pickpocket. 

PENSIONER, a man of the lowest morals who lives off the 

miserable earnings of a prostitute. 

PEPPER, to thrash, or strike. Pu/jilistic, but used by SJiahespere.— 

East. 

PERCH, or ROOST, a resting place ; 

" I'm off to perch," i.e., I 

am going to bed. 

PERSUADERS, spurs.

MODEEN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 189 

PESKY, au intensitive expression, implying annoyance ; a 

PESKY, troublesome fellow. Corruption of pestilent ? 

PETER, a partridge. Poacher's term. 

PETE li, a bundle, or valise. Bulwers Paul Clifford. 

PETER, to run short, or give out. 

PETERER, or peteeman, one who follows hackney and stage 

coaches, and cuts off the portmanteaus and trunks from behind. 

Nearly obsolete. Ancient term for a fisherman, still 

used at Graveseud. 

PETTICOAT, a woman. 

PEWTER, money, like tin, used generally to signify silver ; also, 

a pewter-pot. 

PHYSOG, or phiz, the face. Swift uses the latter. Corruption 

of physioynomy. 

PIC, the Piccadilly Saloon. 

PICK, " to PICK oneself up," to recover after a beating or illness 

"to PICK a man up," "to do," or cheat him. 

PICKERS, the hands.—/S/taA:espcre. 

PICKLE, a miserable or comical position " ; he is in a sad pickle," 

said of any one who has fallen into the gutter, or got besmeared. 

" A PICKLE herring," a comical fellow, a merry 

Andrew.— Old. 

PICKLES! gammon. 

PIECE, a contemptuous term for a woman ; a strumpet. 

Shakespere. 

PIG, or sow's BABY, a sixpence. 

PIG, a mass of metal,— so called from its being poured in a fluid 

state from a sow, which see.— Worhmen's term. 

PIG AND TINDER-BOX, the vulgar rendering of the wellknown 

tavern sign, " Elephant and Castle," 

PEPPER-BOXES, the buildings of the Royal Academy and 

National Gallery, in Trafalgar-square. The name was first 

given by a wag, in allusion to the cupolas erected by Wilkins, 

the architect, upon the roof, and which at a distance 

8U{.'ge^t to the stranger the fact of their being enlarged 

PEPPER-BOXES, from their 

— See BOILERS. 

form and awkward appearance. 

PIGEON, a gullible or soft person. The French slang, or argot, 

has the word pigeon, dupe— " pechon, peschon de ruby, 

apprenti gueux, enfant (sans doute d^robe)." The vagabonds 

and brigands of Spain also use the word in their


Germania, or Robbers' Language, palomo (pigeon), ignorant, 

simple. 

PIGEON, or BLUET cracking, breaking into empty houses and 

stealing lead. 

PIG-HEADED, obstinate. 

PIG'S WHISPER, a low or inaudible whisper; also a short 

space of time, synonymous with cocicsteide, i.e , cock's 

tread. 

PIKE, to run away. 

PIKE, a turnpike; " to bilk a pike," to cheat the keeper of the 

toll-gate. 

PILL, a doctor Military. Pill-driver, a peddling apothecary. 

PIN, " to put in the pin," to refrain from drinking. From the 

ancient peg tankard, which was furnished with a row of 

PINS, or pegs, to regulate the amount which each person was 

to drink. A MERRY PIN, a roisterer. 

PINCH, to steal, or cheat; also, to catch, or appi-ehend. 

PINDARIC HEIGHTS, studying the odes of Pindar.— Oa;/ord. 

PINK, to stab, or pierce. 

PINK, the acm,6 of perfection. Shakespere. 

PINNERS-UP, sellers of old songs pinned against a wall, or 

framed canvas. 

PINS, legs. 

PIPE, to shed tears, or bewail " 

; pipe one's eye.—Sea term, 

" He first beân to eye his pipe, 

And then to pipe his eye." 

Old Song. 

Metaphor from the boatswain's pipe, which calls to duty. 

PIPE, " to put one's pipe out," to traverse his plans, " take a 

rise" out of him. 

PIPKIN, the stomach, — properly, an eai-then round-bottomed 

pot. Norwich. 

PIT, a breast pocket. 

PITCH, a fixed locality where a patterer can hold forth to a 

gaping multitude for at least some few minutes cimtinuously 

" to do a PITCH in the drag," to perform in the street. 

PITCH INTO, to fight ; 

" pitch into him, Bill," i.e., give him 

a thrashing. 

PITCH THE FORK, to tell a pitiful tale. 

PITCH THE NOB, pbick tee garter, which see.


PLANT, a dodge, a preconcerted swindle; a position in the 

street to sell fi'om. Plant, a swindle, may be thus described 

: a coster will join a party of Rambling costers that 

he never saw before, and commence tossing. When sufficient 

time has elapsed to remove all suspicions of companionship, 

his mate will come up and commence betting 

on each of his pal's throws with those standing around. 

By a curious quickness of hand, a coster can make the toss 

tell favourably for his wagering friend, who meets him in 

the evening after the play is over and shares the spoil. 

PLANT, to mark a person out for plunder or robbery, to conceal, 

or place. Old cant. 

PLEBS, a term used to stigmatise a tradesman's son at Westminster 

School. Latin, plebs, the vulgar. 

PLOUGHED, dTxmk.—Household Words, No. 183. Also a 

University term equivalent to plucked. 

PLUCK, the heart, liver, and lungs of an animal,—all that is 

PLUCKED away in connection with the windpipe, from the 

chest of a sheep or hog; among low persons, courage, valour, 

and a stout heart. See mollygrubs. 

PLUCK'D-'UN, a stout or brave fellow ; 

" he's a rare plucked- 

'UN," i.e , dares face anything. 

During the Crimean war, plucky, signifying courageous, 

seemed likely to become a favourite term in May-Fair, even 

among the ladies. An eminent critic, however, who had 

been bred a butcher, having informed the fashionable world 

that in his native town the sheep's head always went with 

the PLUCK, the tei'm has been graduallj' falling into discredit 

at the West End. 

It has been said that a brave soldier is plucky in attack, 

and GAME when wounded. Women are more game than 

PLUCKY. 

PLUCKED, turned back at an examination.— University. 

PLUNDER, a common word in the horse trade to express profit. 

Also an American term for baggage, luggage. 

PLUM, £100,000, usually applied to the dowiy of a rich heiress, 

or a legacy. 

PLUMMY, round, sleek, jolly, or fat ; 

excellent, very good, first 

rate. 

PLUMPER, a single vote at an election, not a " split ticket." 

PODGY, drunk ; dumpy, short and fat. 

POGRAM, a dissenter, a fanatic, formalist, or humbug.

192 A mCTIOXARY OF 

POKE, "come, none of your poking fun at me," i.e., you must 

not laugh at me. 

POKE, a bag, or sack ; " to buy a pig in a poke," to purchase 

anything without seeing it.^Saxon. 

POKER, " by the holy pokee and the tumbling Tom !" an 

Irish oath. 

POKERS, the Cambridge slang term for the Esquire Bedels, who 

carry the silver maces (also called pokers) before the Vice- 

Chancellor. 

POKY, confined or cramped ; 

" that corner is poky and narrow." 

— riwe* article, 21st July, 1859. 

POLE-AXE, vulgar corruption of policeman. 

POLICEMAN, a fly. 

POLISH OFF, to finish off anything quickly—a dinner for instance 

; also to finish off an adversary. Pugilistic. 

POLL, or POLLING, one thief robbing another of part of their 

booty.— Halts Union, 1548. 

POLL, the "ordinary degree" candidates for theB.A. Examination, 

who do not aspire to the "Honours " list. From the 

Greek, k ttoXXoi, "the many." Some years ago, at Cambridge, 

Mr. Hopkins being the most celebrated " honour 

coach," or private tutor for the wranglers, aud Mr. Potts 

the principal " crammer" of the non-honour men, the latter 

was face iiously termed the "polly Hopkins" by the undergraduates. 

POLL, a prostitute ; polled up, living with a woman without 

being married to her. 

POLONY, a Bologna sausage. 

POONA, a soveieign.—Corruption of pound; or from the 

Lingua Franca .? 

PONY, twenty-five pounds. Sporting. 

POPS, pocket pistols. 

POP, to pawn or pledge ; 

" to POP up the spout," to pledge at 

the pawnbroker's,—an allusion to the spout up which the 

brokers send the ticketed articles until such times as they 

shall be redeemed. The spout runs from the ground floor 

to the wareroom at the top of the house. 

POSH, a halfpenny, or trifling coin. Also a generic term for 

money. 

POSTERIORS, a correspondent insists that the vulgar sense of 

this word is undoubtedly slang (Swift, I believe, first 

applied it as such), and remarks that it is curious the word 

anterior has not been so abused.


POST-HORN", the nose.—/See paste-horn. 

POST-MORTEM, at Cambridge, the second examination which 

men who have been " plucked " have to undergo. 

University. 

POT, a sixpence, i.e., the price of a pot or quart of half-andhalf. 

A half crown, in medical student slang, is a five-pot 

PIECE. 

POT, "to GO TO POT," to die; from the classic custom of 

putting the ashes of the dead in an urn ; also, to be ruined, or 

broken up,—often applied to tradesmen who fail in business. 

Go TO POT ! i.e., go and hang yourself, shut up and be quiet. 

L'Edrange, to put the pot on, to overcharge, or exaggerate. 

POT, to iinish ; 

" don't pot me," term used at billiards. This 

word was much used by our soldiers in the Crimea, for 

firing at the enemy from a hole or ambush. These were 

called POT-SHOTS. 

POT-HUNTER, a sportsman who shoots anything he comes 

across, having more regard to tilling his bag than to the rules 

which regulate the sport. 

POT-LUCK, just as it comes ; to take pot-luck, i.e., one's chance 

of a dinner,— a hearty term used to signify whatever the 

pot contciius you are welcome to. 

POT-WALLOPERS, electors in certain boroughs before the 

passing of the Reform Bill, whose qualification consisted in 

being housekeepers,—to establish which, it was only necessary 

to boil a pot w ithin the limits of the borough, by the 

aid of any temporary erection. This implied that they 

were able to provide for themselves, and not necessitated to 

apply for parochial relief. Wallop, a word of Anglo Saxon 

derivation, from the same rout as wall. 

POTTED, or potted out, cabined, confined ; 

" the patriotic 

member of Parliament potted out in a dusty little lodging 

somewhere about Bury-street." Times article, 21st July, 

1859. Also applied to buriaL 

POTTY, indifferent, bad looking. 

POTATO TRAP, the mouth. A humorous Hibernicism. 

POWER, a large quantity.—Formerly /risA, but now general; 

" a POWER of money." 

PRAD, a horse. 

PRAD NAPPING, horse stealing. 

PRANCER, a horse. Ancient cant. 

PRICK THE GARTER, or pitch the nob, a gambling and cheat- 

O


ing game common at fairs, and generally practised by 

It consists of a "garfer" or apiece of list 

thimble riggers. 

doubled, and then folded up tight. The bet is made upon 

your asserting that you can, with a pin, "prick" the point 

at which the garter is doubled. The garter is then unfolded, 

and nine times out of ten you will find that you have 

been deceived, and that you pricked one of the false folds. 

The owner of the garter, I should state, holds the ends 

tightly with one band. This was, doubtless, originally a 

Gipsey game, and we are informed by Brand that it was 

much practised by the Gipseys in the time of Shakespere. 

In those days, it was termed pricking at the belt, or fast 

AND LOOSE. 

PRIG, a thief Used by Addison in the sense of a coxcomb. 

Ancient cant, probably from the Saxon, prico-an, to filch, &c. 

— Shakespere. Prig, to steal, or rob. Prigging, thieving. 

In Scotland the term prig is used in a different sense from 

what it is in England. In Glasgow, or at Aberdeen, " to 

prig a salmon," would be to cheapen it, or seek for an 

abatement in the price. A story is told of two Scotchmen, 

visitors to London, who got into sad trouble a few years 

3go by announcing their intention of " prigging a hat" 

which they had espied in a fashionable manufacturer's 

window, and which one of them thought he would like to 

possess. 

PRIME PLANT, a good subject for plunder.—^5'ee plant. 

PRIMED, said of a person in that state of incipient intoxication 

that if he takes more drink it will become evident. 

PRO, a professional. Theatrical. 

PROG, meat, food, &c. Johnson calls it " a low word." 

PROP, a gold scarf pin. 

PROP-NAILER, a man who steals, or rather snatches, pins from 

gentlemen's scarfs, 

PROPS, crutches. 

PROPER, very, exceedingly, sometimes ironically; "you are a 

PROPER nice fellow," meaning a great scamp. 

PROS, a water-closet. Abbreviated form of irpos riva tottov.— 

Oxford University. 

PROSS, breaking in, or instructing, a stage-infatuated youth. 

Theatrical. 

PSALM-SMITER, a •'Ranter,'" one who sings at a conventicle. 

— See BRISKET beater. 

-PUB, or PUBLIC, a public-house


19o 

PUCKER, poor temper, difficulty, deshabille. 

PUCKER, or puckek tjp, to get in a poor temper. 

PUCKERING, talking privately. 

PUDDING SNAMMER, one who robs a cook shop. 

PUFF, to blow up, swell with praise, was declared by a writer 

in the Weekly Register, as far back as 1732, to be illegitimate. 

" Puff has become a cant word, signifying: the applause set forth by 

writers, &c., to increase the reputation and sale of a book, and 

is an excellent stratagem to excite the curiosity of gentle readers." 

Lord Bacon, however, used the word in a similar sense a 

century before. 

PULL, an advantage, or hold upon another; " I've the pull 

over you," i.e., you are in my power — perhaps an oblique 

allusion to the judicial sense. See the following. 

PULL, to have one apprehended ; " to be pulled up," to be 

taken before a magistrate. 

PULL, to drink " 

; come, take a pull at it," i e., drink up. 

PULLEY, a confederate thief,— generally a woman. 

PUMMEL, to thrash,—from pommel. 

PUMP SHIP, to evacuate urine.—Sea. 

PURE FINDERS, street collectors of dogs' dung. 

PURL, hunting term for a fall, synonymous with eoaled, or 

SPILT ; 

" he'll get purled at the rails." 

PURL, a mixture of hot ale and sugar, with wormwood infused 

in it, a favourite morning drink to produce an appetite ; 

sometimes with gin and spice added : 

" Two penn'orth o' publ— 

Good ' early pukl,' 

'Gin all the world 

To put your hair into a curl, 

When you feel yourself queer of a mornin'." 

PUSH, a crowd. Old cant. 

PUSSEY CATS, corruption of Puseyites,a. name constantly, but 

improperly, given to the "Tractariau" party in the Church, 

from the Oxford Regius Professor of Hebrew, who by no 

means approved of the Romanising tendencies of some of 

its leaders. 

PUT, a game at cards. 

PUT THE POT ON, to bet too much upon one horse.—Sporting. 

PUT UP, to suggest, to incite, " he put me up to it ;" to have 

done with ; put it up, is a vulgar answer often heard in the 

streets. Put up, to atop at an hotel or tavern for entertainment. 

o 2

oth 

196 A DICTIO>fARY OF 

PUT UPON', cheated, deluded, oppressed. 

PYGOSTOLE, the least irreverent of names for the peculiar 

"M.B." coats worn by Tractarian curates." 

" It is true that the wicked make sport 

Of our PTGosTOLES, as we go by ; 

And one gownsman, in Trinity Court, 

Went s.) far as to call me a ' Guy,' 

QUARTEREEN, a farthing. Gibraltar term. Ital., quattrino. 

QUEAN (not queen), a strumpet. 

QUEER, an old cant word, once in continual use as a prefix, signifying 

base, roguish, or worthless,—the opposite of rum, 

which signified good and geuniue. Queer, in all probability, 

is immediately derived from the cant lau2:uage. It has been 

mooted that it came into use from a qucere (?) being set before 

a man's name ; but it is more than probable that it was 

brought into this country by the Gi'seys from Germany, 

where quer signifies "cross," or ^' crooJced." At all events, 

it is believed to have been first used in England as a cant 

word. 

QUEEN BESS, the Queen of Clubs,— perhaps because that 

queen, history says, was of a swarthy complexion. —iVôrÂ 

Hants.— See Gentleman's Magazine for 1791, p. 141. 

QUEER, "to QUEER a flat," to puzzle or confound a "gull" or 

silly fellow. 

" Who in a row like Tom could lead the van, 

Booze in the kf^n, or at the sjidlktii hustle ? 

Who QUEEE a flat," &c. 

Do7i Juan, canto xi., 19. 

QUEER BAIL, worthless persons who for a consideration would 

stand bail for any one in court. lusolvent Jews generally 

performed this office, which gave rise to the term jew-bail. 

— See MOUNTERS : nearly obsolete. 

QUEER BIT-MAKERS, coiners. 

QUEER SCREENS, forged bank notes. 

QUEER SOFT, bad money, 

QUEER STREET, " in queer street," in difficulty or in want. 

QUEER CUFFEN, a justice of the peace, or magistrate—a very 

ancient term, mentioned in the earliest slang dictionary. 

QUERIER, a chimney-sweep who calls from house to house, 

formerly termed knuller, which see. 

QUI- HI, an English resident at Calcutta, Awjlo Indian. 

QUICK STICKS, in a hurry, rapidly " 

; to cut quick sticks," 

to be in a great hurry.

MODEHN SLANG AND CANT WOKDS. 197 

QUID, or THICK UN, a sovereign; "half a quid," half a sovereign ; 

QUIDS, money generally ; "quid for a quod," one good turn 

for another. The word is used by Old French writers : 

" Des testatnens qu'on dit le raaistre 

De mon fait n'aura quid ne quod." 

Grand Testament de Villon. 

QUID, a small piece of tobacco—one mouthful. Quid est hoc ? 

asked one, tapping the swelled cheek of another ; hoc est 

quid, promptly replied the other, exhibiting at the same 

time "a chaw" of the weed. Probably a corruption of 

CUD. 

QUIET, "on the quiet," clandestinely, so as to avoid observation, 

"under the rose." 

QUILL-DRIVER, a scrivener, a clerk - satirical phrase similar 

to STEEL bar-driver, & tailor. 

QUILT, to thrash, or beat; 

QUISBY, bankrupt, poverty stricken. ffo. Words, No. 183. 

QUIZ, a prying person, an odd fellow. Oxford shng ; lately 

admitted into dictionaries. Not noticed by Johnson. 

QUIZ, to pry, or joke. 

QUIZZICAL, jocose, humorous. 

QUOCKERWODGER, a wooden toy figure, which, when pulled 

by a string, jerks its limbs about. The term is used in a 

slang sense to signify a pseudo- politician, one whose strings 

of action are pulled by somebody else.— West. 

QUOD, a prison, or lock up quodded, put in prison. A slang 

; 

expression used by Mr. Hughes, in Tom Brown's Schooldays 

{Macmillan's Magazine, January, 1860), throws some light 

upon the origin of this now very common street term : 

" Flogged or whipped in quad," says the delineator of 

student life, in allusion to chastisement inflicted within the 

Quadrangle of a college. Quadrangle is the term given to 

the prison inclosure within which culprits are allowed to 

walk, and where whippings were formerly inflicted. Quadrangle 

also represents a building of four sides ; and to be 

" within four walls," or prison, is the frequent slang 

lamentation of unlucky vagabonds. 

RABBIT, when a person gets the worst of a bargain he is said 

" to have bought the rabbit." 

RACKET, a dodge, manoeuvre, exhibition ; a disturbance. 

RACKETY, wild or. noisy. 

RACKS, the bonea of a dead horse. Term used by horse 

slaughterers.


EACLAN, a married woman. Glpsey. 

RAFE, or RALPH, a pawnbroker's duplicate. Norwich. 

RAG, to divide or share " 

; let's rag it^" or GO rags, i.e., share 

it equally between us. Noi-wich. 

RAGAMUFFIN, a tattered vagabond, a tatterdemalion. 

RAG SPLAWGER, a rich man. 

RAGS, bank notes. 

• 

RAG-SHOP, a bank. 

RAIN NAPPER, umbrella. 

RAISE THE WIND, to obtain credit, or money — generally by 

pawning or selling off projierty. 

RAMP, to thieve or rob with violence. 

RAMPSMAN, a highway robber who uses violence when necessary. 

RAMSHACKLE, to shatter as with a battering ram; ramshackled, 

knocked about, as standing corn is after a high 

wind. Corrupted from ram-shatter, or possibly from ransack. 

RANDOM, three horses driven in line, a very appropriate term. 

— See tandem. 

RANDY, rampant, violent, warm, amorous. North, randybeggar, 

a gipsey tinker. 

RAN TAN, "on the ean-tan," drunk.-lfo. Words, No. 183. 

RANTIPOLE, a wild noisy fellow. 

RAP, a halfpenny ; frequently used generically for money, thus : 

'• 

I hav'nt a rap," i.e., I have no money whatever " 

; I 

don't care a rap," &c. Originally a species of counterfeit 

coin used for small change in Ireland, against the use of 

which a proclamation was issued, 5fh May, 1737. Small 

copper or base metal coins are still called Rappen in the 

Swiss cantons. Irish robbers are called eapparees. 

" he rapped out a volley of oaths." 

RAP, to utter ; 

RAPPING, enormous; " a rapping big lie." 

RAPSCALLION, a low tattered wretch. 

RAT, a sneak, an informer, a turn-coat, one who changes hi* 

party for interest. The late Sir Robert Peel was called the 

RAT, or the TAMWORTH RATCATCHER, for altering his views 

oh the Roman Catholic question. From rats deserting^ 

vessels about to sink. 

RAT, term amongst printers to denote one who works under 

price. Old cant for a clergyman.


RATHER ! a ridiculous street exclamation synonymous with 

yes ; 

" do you like fried chickens ?" " rather !" " are you 

going out of town ?' " rather !" 

RATHER OF THE RATHEREST, a phrase applied to anything 

slightly in excess or defect. 

RATTLEGAP, an unsteady, volatile person, 

RATTLER, a cab, coach, or cart. 

Old cant. 

RATTLERS, a railway ; "on the rattlers to the stretchers," 

going' to the races by railway. 

i.e., 

R.\W, uninitiated 5 a novice. Old. Frequently a johnny raw. 

RAW, a tender point, a foible ; 

" to touch a man up on the raw " 

is to irritate one by alluding to, or joking him on, anything 

on which he is peculiarly susceptible or "thin-skinned." 

READER, a pocket-book " 

; give it him for his reader," i.e., 

rob him of his pocket-book. Old cant. 

READY, or ready gilt (properly gelt), money. Used by 

Arbuthnot, "Lord Strut was not very flush in ready. 

REAM, good or genuine. 

From the Old cant, rum. 

REAM-BLOAK, a good man. 

RECENT INCISION, the busy thoroughfare on the Surrey side 

of the Thames, known by sober people as the new cut. 

REDGE, gold. 

RED HERRING, a soldier. 

RED LANE, the throat. 

RED LINER, an officer of the Mendicity Society. 

RED RAG, the tongue. 

REGULARS, a thief's share of the plunder. " They were quarrelling 

about the regulars."— Times, 8th January, 1856. 

RELIEVING OFFICER, a significant term for a father.— i/mv. 

" Wrench your mouth 

RENCH, vulgar pronunciation of rinse. 

out," said a fashionable dentist one day. North. 

RE-RAW, " on the be-raw," tipsy or drunk. Household Words, 

No. 183. 

RHINO, ready money. 

RHINOCERAL, rich, wealthy, abounding in rhino, 

RIB, a vfHe.—North. 

RIBBONS, the reins.—Middlesex. 

RIBROAST, to beat till the ribs are sore,— OZci!; but still in 

use : 

" And he departs, not meanly boasting 

Of his magnificent bibboasiing."—//Miiitras.


mCH, spicy; also used in the sense of "too much of a good 

thing ;" " a rich idea," one too absurd or unreasonable to be 

adopted. 

RIDE, "to BIDE THE HIGH HOUSE," OF EIDE BOUGH-SHOD OVer 

one, to be overbearing or oppressive ; to ride the black 

DONKEY, to be in an ill humour. 

RIDER, in a University examination, a problem or question 

appended to another, as directly arising from or dependent 

on it;-— -beginning to be generally used for any corollary or 

position which naturally arises from any previous statement 

or evidence. 

RIGGED, " well bigged," well dressed. Old slang, in use 1736. 

—See Baileifs Dictionary. — Sea. 

RIGHT AS NINEPENCE, quite right, exactly right. 

RIGHTS, "to have one to bights," to be even with him, to 

serve him out. 

RIGMAROLE, a prolix story. 

Pro- 

RILE, to offend, to render very cross, irritated, or vexed. 

perly, to render liquor turbid. Norfolk. 

RIG, a trick, "spree," or performance; "run a rig," to play a 

trick Gipsey ; "big the market," in reality to play tricks 

with it,—a mercantile slang phrase often used in the newspapers. 

RING, a generic term given to horse racing and pugilism,—the 

latter is sometimes termed the prize-bing. From the 

practice of forming the crowd into a ring around the combatants, 

or outside the race-course. 

RING, " to go through the bing," to take advantage of the Insolvency 

Act, or be whitewashed. 

RING DROPPING, gee fawney. 

RINGING CASTORS, changing hats. 

RINGING THE CHANGES, changing bad money for good. 

RIP, a rake ; 

" an old rip," an old libertine, or debauchee. 

Corruption of Reprohate, A person reading the letters 

R. I. P. {Requiescat in Pace) on the top of a tombstone as one 

word, said, soliloquising, "Rip] well, hetca« an old BlP,and 

no mistake. Cuthhert Bede. 

RIPPER, a first-rate man or article. Provincial. 

RIPPING, excellent, very good. 

RISE, " to take a bise out of a person," to mortify, outwit, or 

. cheat him, by superior cunning.


RISE (or HAKE) A BARNEY, to collect a mob. 

ROARER, a broken-winded horse. 

ROARING TRADE, a very successful business. 

ROAST, to expose a persou to a running fire of jokes at bis 

expense from a whole compauy, in his presence. 

is done by a single person only. 

Quizzing 

ROCK A LOW, an overcoat. Corruption of the French koque- 

LAURE. 

ROCKED, "he's only HALF- ROCKED," i.e., half witted. 

ROLL OF SNOW, a piece of Irish linen. 

ROMANY, a Gipsey, or the Gipsey language; the speech of the 

Roma or Zincali. 

Spanish Gipsey. 

ROOK, a clergyman, not only from his black attire, but also, 

perhaps, from the old nursery favourite, the History of 

Cock Robin. 

" I, gays the book, 

With my little book, 

I'll be the parson." 

ROOK, a cheat, or tricky gambler ; the opposite of pigeon.— Old. 

ROOKERY, a low neighbourhood inhabited by dirty Irish and 

thieves—as ST. giles' rookery.— Old. In Military slang 

that part of the barracks occupied by subalterns, often by 

no means a pattern of good order. 

ROOKY, rascally, rakish, scampish. 

ROOST, synonymous with perch, which see. 

ROOTER, anything good or of a pvime quality; "that is a 

ROOTER," i.e., a first-rate one of the sort. 

ROSE, an orange. 

ROSE, "under the rose" (frequently used in its Latin form. 

Sub rosd), i.e., under the obligation of silence and secresy, 

of which the rose was anciently an emblem, perhaps, as 

Sir Thomas Browne remarks, from the closeness with which 

its petals are enfolded in the bud. The Rose of Venus was 

given, says the classic legend, to Harpocrates, the God of 

Silence, by Cupid, as a bribe not to " peach " about the 

Goddess' amours. It was commonly sculptured on the 

ceilings of banquetting rooms, as a sign that what was said 

in free conversation tliere was not afterwards to be divulged 

and about 1526 was placed over the Roman confessionals as 

an emblem of secrecy. The White Rose was also an 

emblem of the Pretender, whose health, as king, his secret 

adherents used to drink "under the rose."


ROT, nonsense, anything bad, disagreeable, or useless. 

ROT GUT, bad small beer,—in America, cheap whisky. 

ROUGH, bad ; 

" bough fish," bad or stinking fish. 

ROUGH IT, to put up with chance entertainment, to take pot 

luck, and what accommodation " turns up," without sighing 

for better. Roughing it in the Bush" is the title of an 

interesting work on Backwoods life, 

ROUGHS, coarse, or vulgar men. 

RO ULEAU, a packet of sovereigns. Gaming. 

ROUND, to tell tales, to 'split," which see j "to round on a 

man," to swear to him as being the person, &c. Synonymous 

Shakespere has kounding, whis- 

with " BUFF," which see. 

pering. 

ROUND, " ROUND dealing," honest trading ; 

" round sum," a 

large sum. Synonymous also in a slang sense with square, 

which see. 

ROUNDS, shirt collars—apparently a mere shortening of " All 

Rounds," or " All Rounders," names of fashionable collars. 

ROUNDS (in the language of the street), the beats or usual 

walks of the costermonger to sell his stock. 

A term used 

by street folk generally. 

" Watchmen, sometimes they made their sallies. 

And walk'd their bounds through streets and allies." 

JSed Ward's Vulgui Britannicus, 1710. 

ROUND ROBIN, a petition, or paper of remonstrance, with the 

signatures written in a circle,—to prevent the first signer, 

or ringleader, from being discovered. 

ROUNDABOUTS, large swings of four compartments, each the 

size, and very much the shape, of the body of a cart, 

capable of seating six or eight boys and girls, erected in a 

high frame, and turned round by men at a windlass. Fairs 

and meny-makings generally abound with them. The 

frames take to pieces, aud are carried in vans by miserable 

horses, from fair to fair, &c. 

ROW, a noisy disturbance, tumult, or trouble. Originally 

Cambridge, now universal. Seventy years ago it was written 

EOUB, which would indicate a French origin from roue, a 

profligate, or disturber of the peace.— Vide George Parker's 

Life's Painter, 1789, p. 122. 

ROWDY, money. In America, a ruffian, a bi'awler, "rough." 

ROWDY-DOW, low, vulgar; " not the cheese," or thing. 

RUB, a quarrel, or impediment: "there's the rub," i.e., that is 

the difficulty. Shakespere and L'Estrange.


RUBBER, a term at whist, &c., two games out of three.— Old, 

1677. 

RUCK, the undistinguished crowd " 

; to come in with the ruck," 

to arrive at the winning post among the non-winniug horses. 

— Racing term. 

RUGGY, fusty, frowsy. 

RUM, like its oi^poslte, queer, was formerly a much used prefix, 

signifying, fine, good, gallant, or valuable, perhaps in some 

way connected with ROME. Now a-daysit means indifferent, 

bad, or questionable, and we often hear even persons in 

polite society use such a phrase as " what a rum fellow he 

is, to be sure," in speakiug of a man of singular habits or 

appearance. The term, from its frequent use, lo% since 

claimed a place in our dictionaries ; but, with the exception 

of Johnson, who says rum, a cant word for a clergyman (?), 

no lexicographer has deigned to notice it. 

" Thus KTJMLT floor'd, the kind Acestes ran. 

And pityinj;, rais'd from cartk the game old man." 

Viegil's^weid, book v., Traiislcaion by Thomas Moore. 

RUMBUMPTIOUS, haughty, pugilistic. 

RUMBUSTIOUS, or eumbustical, pompous, 

haughty, boisterous, 

careless of the comfort of others. 

RUMGUMPTION, or gumption, knowledge, capacity, capability, 

—heuce, rumgumptious, knowing, wide-awake, forward, 

positive, pert, blunt. 

RUM MIZZLERS, persons who are clever at making their escape, 

or getting out ui a difficulty. 

RUMPUS, a noise, disturbance, a " row." 

RUMY, a good woman, or ^v\. — Gipsey slang. In the regular 

Gipsey language, romi, a woman, a wife, is the feminine of 

RO, a man ; and in the Robber's Language of Spain (partly 

Gipsey), RUMi signifies a harlot. 

RUN (good or bad), the success of a performance — Theatrical. 

RUN, to comprehend, &c. ; "I don't run, to it," i.e., I can't do 

it, or I don't understand, or I have not money enough. 

North. 

RUN, " to get the run upon any person," to have the upper 

hand, or be able to laugh at them. Run down, to abuse or 

backbite anyone. 

RUNNING PATTERER, a Bti-eet seller who runs or moves 

briskly along, calling aloud his wares. 

RUNNING STATIONERS, hawkers of books, ballads, dying 

speeches, and newspapers. They, formerly used to ran with


newspapers, blowing a horn, when they were also termed 

FLYING STATIONERS, 

RUSH, " doing it on the hush," running away, or making off. 

RUST, " to nab the rust," to take offence. Rusty, cross, illtempered, 

morose, one who cannot go through life like a 

person of easy and polished manners. 

RUSTY GUTS, a blunt, rough old fellow, Cori-uption of Rus- 

TICUS. 

SACK, " to get the sack," to be discharged by an employer. 

SADDLE, an additional charge made by the manager to a performer 

upon his benefit night. Theatrical. 

SAD DQG, a merry fellow, a joker, a gay or " fast " man. 

SAINT^MONDAY, a holiday most religiously observed by 

journeymen shoemakers, and other mechanics. An Irishman 

observed that this saint's anniversary happened every week. 

— North, where it is termed cobblers' Monday. 

SAL, a salary. Theatrical. 

SALAMANDERS, street acrobats, and jugglers who eat fire. 

SAL OOP, SALEP, or salop, a greasy, looking beverage, formerly 

sold on stalls at early morning, prepai-ed from a pawder 

made of the root of the Orchis mascula, or Red-handed 

Orchis. Within a few years coffee stands have superseded 

SALOOP stalls, but Charles Lamb, in one of his papers, has 

left some account of this drinkable, which he says was of 

all preparations the most grateful to the stomachs of young 

chimney sweeps. 

SALT, ' its rather too salt," said of an extravagant hotel bill. 

SALT BOX, the condemned cell in Newgate. 

SALTEE, a penny. Pence, &c., are thus reckoned : 

Oneysaltee, apenny, from the /

MODERN SLANG AND CANT WOEDS. 205 

Sat CHINKER SALTEE, 01' DACHA ONE 

SALTEE, elevenpence DIECI UNO soldi, &c. 

Oney beong, one shilling. 

A BEONQ SAY SALTEE, oue shllliDfi; and sixpence. 

DOOE BEONG SAY SALTEE, Or MADZA CAROON, Lalf-a-CrOWn, 

or two shillings and sixpence. 

*** This curious list of numerals in use among the London 

street folk is, strange as it may seem, derived from the 

Lingua Franca, or bastard Italian, of the Mediterranean 

seaports, of which other examples may be found in the pages 

of this Dictionary. Saltee, the cant term used by the 

co.^termongers and others for a penny, is no other tHan the 

Italian, soldo (plural, soldi), and the numerals—as may be 

seen by the Italian equivalents—are a tolerably close imitation 

of the originals. After the number six, a curious variation 

occurs, which is peculiar to the Loudon cant, seven 

being reckoned as say oney, six-one, say doob, six-two = 8, 

and so on. Dacha, I may remark, is perhaps from the 

Greek, deka {diKa), ten, which, in the Const antinopolitau 

Lingua Franca, is likely enough to have been substituted 

for the Italian. Madza, is clearly the Italian mezza. The 

origin of beong I have not been so fortunate as to discover, 

xinless it be the Fiench, bien, the application of which to a 

shilling is not so evident; but amongst costermongers and 

other street folk, it is quite immaterial what foreign tongue 

contributes to their secret language. Providing the terms 

are unknown to the police and the public generally, they 

care not a rushlight whether the polite French, the gay 

Spaniards, or the cloudy Germans helped to swell their 

vocabulary. The numbers of low foreigners, however, 

dragging out a miserable existence in our crowded neighbourhoods, 

organ grinders and image sellers, foreigu seamen 

from the vessels in the river, and our own connection with 

Malta and the Ionian Isles, may explain, to a certain extent, 

the phenomenon of the.';e Southern phrases iu the mouths 

of costers and tramps. 

SALT JUNK, navy salt beef. See OLD HOHSE. 

SALVE, praise, flattery, chaff. 

SAM, to "stand sam," to pay for refreshment, or drink, to stand 

paymaster for anything. An Americanism, originating in 

the letters U.S. on the knapsacks of the United States soldiers, 

which letters were jocularly said to be the initials of 

Uncle Sam (the Government), who pays for all. In use in 

tliis country as early as 1827.


SANGUINARY JAMES, a sheep's head. 

SANK WORK, making soldiers' clothes. 

See bloody jemmy. 

Mayhtw says from the 

Norman, saxc, blood,—in allusion either to the soldier'a 

calling, or the colour of his coat, 

SAP, or SAPSCULL, a poor green simpleton, with no heart for 

work. 

SAUCEBOX, a mouth, also a pert young person. 

SAVELOY, a sausage of chopped beef smoked, a minor kind of 

POLONY. 

SAVEY, to know; " do you savey that ?" French, savez vous 

CBLA ? In the nigger and Anc/lo Chinese patois, this issABBY, 

" me no sabby." The Whampoa slang of this description is 

very extraordinary ; from it we have got our word cash ! 

SAW YOUR TIMBER, "be off!" 

— See CDT. 

equivalent to cut your stick. 

SAWBONES, a surgeon. 

SAWNEY, or SANDY, a Scotchman. Corruption of Alexander. 

SAWNEY, a simpleton. 

Sawney hunter, one who steals bacon. 

SAWNEY, bacon. 

SCAB, a worthless person. Old. Shakespere uses scald in a 

similar sense. 

SCALDRUM DODGE, burning the body with a mixture of acids 

and gunpowder, so as to suit the hues and complexions of 

the accident to be deplored. 

SCALY, shabby, or mean. 

Shakespere uses scald, an old word 

of reproacb. 

SCAMANDER, to wander about without a settled purpose;— 

possibly in allusion to the winding course of the Homeric 

river of that name. 

SCAMMERED, drunk. 

SCAMP, a graceless fellow, a rascal ; formerly the cant term for 

plundering and thieving. A royal-scamp was a highwayman, 

whilst a FOOT scamp was an ordinary thief with nothing 

but his legs to trust to in case of an attempt at capture. 

Some have derived scamp from qui ex campo exit, viz., one 

who leaves the field, a deserter. 

SCARPER, to runaway. Spanish, escapab, to escape, make off; 

Italian, scappare. " SScarper with the feele of the donna 

of the cassey," to run away with the daughter of the landlady 

of the house ; almost pure Italian, " scappare colla 

figlia deUa danna della cata."

MODERN SLANG AND CA5IT WORDS. 207 

SCHISM-SHOP, a dissenters' meeting-house. 

University. 

SCHOFEL, bad money. See snow full. 

SCHOOL, or mob, two or more " patterers" working together in 

the streets, 

SCHOOLING, a low gambling party. 

SCHWASSLE BOX, the street performance of Punch and Judy. 

—Household Words, No. 183. 

SCONCE, the head, judgment, eensa.— Dutch. 

SCORE, " to run up a score at a public house," to obtain credit 

there until pay day, or a fixed time, when the debt must be 

WIPED OFF. 

SCOT, a quantity of anything, a lot, a share. Anglo Saxon, 

SCEAT, pronounced shot. 

SCOT, temper, or passion,—from the irascible temperament of 

that nation ; 

" oh ! what a scot he was in," i.e., what temper 

he showed,—especially if you allude to the following. 

SCOTCH FIDDLE, the itch " 

; to play the scotch fiddle," to 

work the index finger of the right hand like a fiddlestick 

between the index and middle finger of the left. This provokes 

a Scotchmen in the highest degree, it implying that 

he is aflaicted with the itch. 

SCOTCH GRAYS, lice. Our northern neighbours are calumniously 

reported, from their living on oatmeal, to be 

peculiarly liable to cutaneous eruptions and parasites. 

SCOTCHES, the legs ; also synonymous with notches. 

Oxford.— See QTP. 

SCOUT, a college valet, or waiter. 

SCRAG, the neck. Old cant. Scotch, craiq. Still used by 

butchers. Hence, scrag, to haug by the neck, and scragging, 

an execution,—also old cant. 

SCRAN, pieces of meat, broken victuals. Formerly the reckoning 

at a public-house. Scranning, begging for broken 

victuals. Also, an Irish malediction of a mild sort, " Bad 

SCRAN to yer !" 

SCRAPE, a difficulty ; scrape, low wit for a shave. 

SCRAPE, cheap butter " 

; bread and scrape," the bread and 

butter issued to school-boys—so called from the butter 

being laid on, and then scraped off again, for economy's sake, 

SCRAPING CASTLE, a water-closet, 

SCRATCH, a fight, contest, point in dispute " 

; coming up to 

the SCRATCH," goiug or preparing to fight—in reality, ap-


proaobiug the line usually chalked on the ground to divide 

the I'iug. Puyilistic. 

SCRA.TCH, " no great scratch," of little worth, 

SCRATCH, to strike a horse's name out of the list of runners in 

" Tomboy was scratched for the Derby, 

a particular race. 

at 10, a.m., on Wednesday," from which period all bets 

made in reference to him (with one exception) are void. See 

F.P.—Turf. 

SCRATCH-RACE (on the Turf), a race where any horse, aged, 

winner, or loser, can run widi any weights ; in fact, a race 

without restrictions. At Cambridge a boat-race, where the 

crews are drawn by lot. 

SCREAMING, first-rate, splendid. Believed to have been first 

used in the Adelphi play-bills; " a screaming farce," one 

calculated to make the audience scream with laughter. Now 

a general expression. 

SCREEVE, a letter, a begging petition. 

SCREEVE, to write, or devise ; "to screeve a fakement,'* to 

concoct, or write, a begging letter, or other impostor's document. 

From the Dutch, schryven ; German, schreiben ; 

French, ecrivant (old form), to write. 

SCREEVER, a man who draws with coloured chalks on the 

jiavemeut figures of our Saviour crowned with thorns, 

specimens of elaborate writing, thunderstorms, ships on fire, 

&c. The men who attend these pavement chalkings, and 

receive halfpence and sixpences from the admiiers of street 

art, are not always the draughtsmen. The artist, or 

SCREEVER, drew, perhaps, in half-a-dozen places that very 

morning, aud rented the sîots out to as many cadaverous 

looking men. 

SCREW, an unsound, or broken-down horse, that requires both 

whip and spur to get him along. 

SCREW, a key,—skeleton, or otherwise. 

SCREW, a turnkey. 

SCREW, a mean or stingy person. 

SCREW, salary or wages. 

SCREW, "to put on the screw," to limic one's credit, to be 

more exact and precise. 

SCREW LOOSE, when friends become cold and distant towards 

each other, it is said ttiere is a screw loose betwixt tliem ; 

said also when anything goes wrong with a person's credit 

or reputation.


SCREW, a small packet of tobacco. 

SCREWED, intoxicated or drunk. 

SCRIMMAGE, or scrummage, a disturbance or row. 

Ancient. 

Corruption of skirmish ? 

SCROBY, " to get sorobt," to be whipped in prison before the 

justices. 

SCROUGE, to crowd or squeeze.— Wiltshire. 

SCRUFF, the back part of the neck seized by the adversary in 

an encounter. 

SCRUMPTIOUS, nice, particular, beautiful. 

SCUFTER, a policeman. North country. 

SCULL, or SKULL, the head or master of a college. University, 

but nearly obsolete ; the gallery, however, in St. Mary's (tiie 

University church), where the " Heads of Houses " sit in 

solemn state, is still nicknamed the golgotha by the undergraduates. 

SCURF, a mean fellow. 

SEALS, a religious slang term for converts. —/See owned. 

SEEDY, worn out, poverty stricken, used up, shabby. Metaphorical 

expression from the appearance of flowei's when off 

bloom and running to seed ; hence said of one who wears 

clothes until they crack and become shabby " 

; how seedy 

he looks," said of any man whose clothes are worn threadbare, 

with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration 

and continual polishing and wetting. When a 

man's coat begins to look worn out and shabby he is said 

to look SEEDY and ready for cuttinr/. This term has been 

" on the streets " for nearly two centuries, and latterly has 

found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is 

now a recognised word, and one of the most expressive in 

the English language. The French are always amused with 

it, they having no similar term. 

SELL, to deceive, swindle, or play a practical joke upon a person- 

A sham is a sell in street parlance. " Sold again, and got 

the money," a costermonger cries after having successfully 

deceived somebody. Shakespere uses selling in a similar 

sense, viz., blinding or deceiving. 

SELL, a deception, disappointment j also a lying joke. 

SENSATION, a quartern of gin. 

SERENE, all right ; 

" it's all serene," a street phrase of very 

modern adoption, the burden of a song. 

SERVE OUT, to punish, or be revenged on any one. 

P


SETTER, sevenpence. Italian, sette.— See saltee. 

SETTER, a person employed by the vendor at an auction to run 

the biddings up ; to bid against bond fide bidders. 

SETTLE, to kill, ruin, or effectually quiet a person. 

SETTLED, transported. 

SET TO, a sparring match, a fight ; 

" a dead set," a determined 

stand, in argument or in movement. 

SEVEN PENNORTH, transported for seven years. 

SEWED- UP, done up, used up, intoxicated. Dutch, SEEUWT, 

sick. 

SHACK, a "chevalier d'industrie," 

SHACKLY, loose, rickety. Devonshire. 

SHAKE, a prostitute, a disreputable man or woman. North. 

SHAKE, to take away, to steal, or run off with any thing ; "what 

SHAKES, Bill ?" " None," i.e., no chance of committing a 

robbery. See the following. 

SHAKE, or shakes, a bad bargain is said to be "no great 

SHAKES ;" " pretty fair shakes " is anything good or favourable. 

Byron. In America, a fair shake is a fair trade or a 

good bargain. 

SHAKE LURK, a false paper carried by an impostor, giving an 

account of a " dreadful shipwreck." 

SHAKER, a shirt. 

SHAKESTER, or shickster, a prostitute. Amongst costermougers 

this term is invariably applied to ladies, or the 

wives of tradesmen, and females generally of the classes 

immediately above them. 

SHAKY, said of a person of questionable health, integrity, or 

solvency ; at the University, of one not likely to pass bis 

examination. 

SHALER, a girl. 

SHALLOW, a flat basket used by costers. 

SHALLOWS, " to go on the shallows," to go half naked. 

SHALLOW-COVE, a begging rascal who goes about the country 

half naked,—with the most limited amount of rags upon his 

person, wearing neither shoes, stockings, nor hat. 

SHALLOW-MOT, a ragged woman,—the frequent companion of 

the SHALLOW-COVE. 

SHALLOW-SCREEVER, a man who sketches and draws on the 

pavement.— /See screevee. 

SHAM ABRAHAM, to feign sickness. 

See Abraham.


SHANDY- GAFF, ale and ginger beer; perhaps sang de gofp, 

the favourite mixture of one goff, a blacksmith. 

SHANKS, legs. 

SHANKS' NAG, " to ride shanks' nag," to go on foot. 

SHANT, a pot or quart; " shant of bivvy," a quart of beer. 

SHAPES, "to cut up" or "show shapes," to exhibit pranks, or 

flightiness. 

SHARP, or SHARPER, a cunning cheat, a rogue,—the opposite of 

flat. 

SHARP'S-ALLEY BLOOD WORMS, beef sausages and black 

puddings. 

Sharp' s-alley was very recently a noted slaughtering 

place near Smithfield. 

SHARPING-OMEE, a policeman. 

SHARK, a sharper, a swindler. Bow-street term in 1785, now 

in most dictionaries.' Friesic and Danish, schurk.— See 

LAND-SHARK. 

SHAVE, a false alarm, a hoax, a sell. This was much used iu 

the Crimea during the Russian campaign. 

SHAVE, a narrow escape. At Cambridge, "just shaving 

through," or "making a shave," is just escaping a " pluck" 

by coming out at the bottom of the list. 

" My terms are anything but dear, 

Then read with me, and never fear 

The examiners we're sure to queer. 

And get through, if you make a shatb on't." 

The Private Tutor. 

SHAVER, a sharp fellow ; 

" a young" or " old shaver," a boy or 

mau. Sea. 

SHEEN, bad money. Scotch. 

SHEEP'S EYES, " to make sheep's eyes at a person," to cast 

amorous glances towards one on the sly : 

" But he, the beast, was easting shbbp's etks at her. 

Out of his bullock head." 

Colinan, Broad Grins, p. 57. 

SHEEP'S FOOT, an iron hammer used in a printing office, the 

end of the handle being made like a sheep's foot. 

SHELF, " on the shelf," not yet disposed of ; 

young ladies are 

said to be so situated when they cannot meet with a 

husband ; 

" on the shelf," pawned. 

SHELL OUT, to pay or count out money. 

SHICE, nothing; "to do anything for shice," to get no payment. 

The term was first used by the Jews in the last 

P 2


century. Grose gives the phrase chice-am-a- trice, which 

has a synonymous meaning.


of spurs, as a sign that he should use them in making his 

escape. 

SHOES, " to die in one's shoes," to be hung. 

SHOOL, to saunter idly, become a vagabond, beg rather than 

work. Smollett's Roderick Random, vol. i., p. 262. 

SHOOT THE CAT, to vomit. 

SHOOT THE MOON, to remove furniture from a house in the 

night, without paying the landlord. 

SHOOT WITH THE LONG BOW, to tell lies, to exaggerate. 

Synonymous with throwing the hatchet. 

SHOP BOUNCER, or SHOP lifter, a person generally respectably 

attired, who, while being served with a small article at a 

shop, steals one of more value, Shakespere has the word 

lifter, a thief. 

SHOPPING, purchasing at shops. Termed by Todd a slang 

word, but used by Cowjper and Byron. 

SHORT, when spirit is drunk without any admixture of water, 

it is said to be taken " short ;" " summat short," a di'am. A 

similar phrase is used at the counters of banks ; upon presenting 

a cheque, the clerk asks, "how will you take it?" 

i.e.f in gold, or in notes ? Should it be desired to receive it 

in as small a compass as possible, the answer is, " short." 

SHORT COMMONS, short allowance of food.—-See commons. 

SHOT, from the modern sense of the word to shoot, —a guess, 

a random conjecture " 

; to make a bad shot," to exDose ones 

ignorance by making a wrong guess, or random answer 

without knowing whether it is right or wrong. 

SHOT, from the once English, but now provincial word, to 

shoot, to subscribe, contribute in fair proportion ;— 

share, the- same as scot, both being from the Anglo 

Saxon word, sceat ; 

" to pay one's shot," i.e., share of the 

reckoning, &c. 

SHOT, "I wish I may be shot, if," &c., a common form of mild 

swearing. 

SHOVE-HALFPENNY, a gambling street game. 

SHOWFIJLL, or 

schofell, a Hansom cab,— said to have 'oeen 

from the name of the inventor. Led de hor qu. 

SHOW-FULL, or schoful, bad money. Mayhew thinks this 

word is from the Danish, skuffe, to shove, to deceive, cheat 

Saxon, SCUFAN,—whence the English, shove. The term, 

however, is possibly one of the many street words from the 

Hebrew (through the low Jews) ; shephel, in that Ittuguage,


signifying a low or debased estate. Cltdldee, shaphal.— See 

Psalm cxxxvi. 23, " in our low estate." A correspondent 

suggests another very probable derivation, from the German, 

SCHOFEL, trash, rubbish,—the German adjective, schofelig, 

being the nearest possible translation of our shabby. 

SHOWFULL-PITCHER, a passer of counterfeit money. 

SHOWFULL PITCHING, passing bad money. 

SHOWFULL PULLET, a " gay" 

SHRIMP, a diminutive person. 

woman. 

Chaucer. 

SHUNT, to throw or turn aside. Railway term. 

SHUT OF, or shot op, rid of. 

SHUT UP ! be quiet, don't make a noise ; to stop short, to 

make cease in a summary manner, to silence effectually. 

" Only the other day we heard of a preacher who, speaking 

of the scene with the doctors in the Temple, remarked that 

the Divine disputant completely shut them upI"— Athen. 

30th July, 1859. Shut up, utterly exuausted, done for. 

SHY, a throw. 

SHY, " to fight SHT of a pei-son," to avoid his society either 

from dislike, fear, or any other reason. Shy has also the 

sense of flighty, unsteady, untrustworthy. 

SHY, to fling ; cock-sht, a game at fairs, consisting of throwing 

short sticks at trinkets set upon other sticks,—both name 

and practice derived from the old game of throwing or 

SHYiXG at live cocks. 

SICES, or sizes, a throw of sixes at dice. 

SICK AS A HORSE, popular simile,—curious, because a horse 

never vomits. 

SICKNER, or sickener, a dose too much of anything. 

SIDE BOARDS, or stick-ups, shirt collars. 

SIGHT, " to take a sight at a person," a vulgar action employed 

by street boys to denote incredulity, or contempt for 

authority, by placing the thumb against the nose and closing 

all the fingers except the little one, which is agitated in 

token of derision. See walker. 

SIM, one of a Methodistical turn in religion ; a low-church-man ; 

originally a follower of the late Rev. Charles Simeon. 

Cambridge. 

SIMON, a sixpenny piece. 

SIMON 'PURE, "the real simon pure," the genuine article.

his 


Those who have witnessed Mr. C. Mathews' performance in 

Mrs. Centlivre's admirable comedy of A Bold Stroke for a 

Wife, and the laughable coolness with which he, the false 

SIMON PURE, assuming the quaker dress and character of 

the REAL ONE, elbowed that worthy out of , expected 

entertainment, will at once perceive the origin of this phrase. 

— See act v., scene 1. 

SING OUT, to call aloud.—,Sea. 

SING SMALL, to lessen one's boasting, and turn arrogance into 

humihty. 

SINKERS, bad money. 

SINKS, a throw of fives at dice. French, cinqs. 

SIR HARRY, a close stool. 

SISERARA, a hard blow. Suffolk. Moor derives it from the 

story of Sisera in the Old Testament, but it is more probably 

a corruption of certiorari, a Chancery writ reciting 

a complaint of hard usage. 

SIT UNDER, a term employed in Pissentei's' meeting houses, to 

denote attendance on the ministry of any particular 

preacher. 

SITTING PAD, sitting on the pavement in a begging position. 

SIT-UPONS, trousers. 

See inexpressibles. 

SIVVY, " 'pon my sivvt," i.e., upon my soul or honour. Corruption 

of asseveration, like davt, which is an abridgment 

of affidavit. . 

SIXES AND SEVENS, articles in confusion are said to be all 

SIXES and sevens. The Deity is mentioned in the Towneley 

Mysteries as He that " sett all on seven," i.e., set or 

appointed everything in seven days. A similar phrase at 

this early date implied confusion and disorder, and from 

these, Halliwell thinks, has been derived the phrase " to be 

at SIXES AND sevens." A Scotch correspondent, however, 

states that the phrase probably came from the workshop, 

and that amongst needle makers when the points and eyes 

are " heads and tails" (" heeds and thraws"), or in confusion, 

they are said to be sixes and sevens, because those 

numbers are the sizes most generally used, and in the course 

of manufacture have frequently to be distinguished. 

SIXTY, "to go along like sixty," i.e., at a good rate, briskly. 

SIZE, to order extras over and above the usual commons at the 

dinner in college halls. Soup, pastry, &c., are sizinqs, and are


paid for at a certain specified rate per size, or portion, to 

the college cook. Peculiar to Cambridge. Minsheu says, 

" SIZE, a farthing which schollers in Cambridge have at the 

buttery, noted with the letter s." 

SIZERS, or siZAES, are certain poor scholars at Cambridge, annually 

elected, who get their dinnei's (including sizings) from 

what is left at the upper, or Fellows' table, fi"ee, or nearly 

so. They pay rent of rooms, and some other fees, on a 

lower scale than the "Pensioners" or ordinary students, 

and answer to the " battlers" and " servitors" at Oxford. 

SIZINGS, see size. 

SKATES LURK, a begging impostor dressed as a sailor. 

SKID, a sovereign. 

Fashionable slang. 

SKIE, to throw upwards, to toss "coppers." See odd man. 

SKILLY, broth served on board the hulks to convicts. Line. 

SKILLIGOLEE, prison gruel, also sailors' soup of many ingredients. 

SKIN, a purse. 

SKIN, to abate, or lower the value of anything " 

; thin skinned," 

sensitive, touchy. 

SKIN-FLINT, an old popular simile for a 

person. 

" close-fisted," stingy 

SKIPPER, the master of a vessel. Dutch, schiffer, from schiff 

a ship ; sometimes used synonymous with " Governor." 

SKIPPER, a barn. Aîcient cant. 

SKIPPER IT, to sleep in the open air, or in a rough way. 

SKIPPER-BIRDS, or keyhole whistlers, persons who sleep 

in bams or outhouses in preference to lodging-houses. 

SKIT, a joke, a squib. 

SKITTLES, a game similar to Ten Pins, which, when interdicted 

by the Government was altered to Nine Pins, or 

skittles. They are set up in an alley and are thrown at 

(not bowled) with a round piece of hard wood, shaped like 

a small flat cheese. The costers consider themselves the 

best players in London. 

SKROUGE, to push or squeeze. North. 

SKULL-THATCHERS, straw bonnet makers,— sometimes 

called " bonnet-BUiLDERS." 

SKY, a disagi-eeable person, an enemy.— Westminster School.


SKY-BLUE, London milk much diluted with water, or from 

which the cream has been too closely skimmed. 

"Hence, Suffolk dairy wives run mad for cream. 

Anil leave their milk with nothing but the name 

Its name derision and reproach pursue. 

And strangers tell of three times skimmed skt-blue." 

Bloo'mfieLd's Farmer's Boy. 

Sky-blue formerly meant gin. 

SKY-LARK.—&e lark. 

SKY PARLOUR, the garret. 

SKY SCRAPER, a tall man " 

; are you cold up there, old sky 

SCRAPER ?" Properly a sea term ; the light sails which 

some adventurous skippers set above the royals in calm 

latitudes are termed sky-scrapers and moon-rakers. 

SKY WANNOCKING, unsteady, frolicking.—iVor/ott. 

SLAMMOCK, a slattern or awkward person.— West ; and Norf. 

SLANG, low, vulgar, unwritten, or unauthorised language. 

Gipsey, SLANG, the secret language of the Gipseys, synonymous 

with GIBBERISH, another Gipsey word. This word is 

only to be found in the Dictionaries of Webster and Ogilvle. 

It was, perhaps, first recorded by Grose, in his Dictionary 

of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785. Slang, since it has been 

adopted as an English word, generally implies vulgar language 

not known or recognised as cant ; and latterly, 

whea applied to speech, has superseded the word flash. 

SLANG, counterfeit or short weights and measures. A slang 

quart is a pint and a half. Slang measures are lent out at 

2d. per day. The term is used principally by costermongers. 

SLANG, to cheat, to abuse in foul language. 

SLANG, a travelling show. 

SLANG, a watch chain. 

SLANGY, flashy, vulgar; loud in dress, manner, and conversation. 

SLANTINGDICULAR, oblique, awry,—as opposed to perpendicular. 

SLAP, paint for the face, rouge. 

'* 

SLAP, exactly, precisely ; slap in the wind's eye," i.e., exactly 

to windward. 

SLAP-UP, first-rate, excellent, very good. 

SLAP-BANG, suddenly, violently. 

SLAP-BANG SHOPS, low eating houses, where you have to pay 

down the ready money with a slap-bang.— Grose.


SLAP-DASH, immediately, or quickly. 

SLASH, a pocket in an overcoat. 

SLASHER, a powerful roisterer, a pugilist; "the tipton 

8LASHEB." 

SLATE, to pelt with abuse, to beat, to "UCK;" or, in the 

language of the reviewers, to "cut up." 

SLATE, "he has a slate loose," i.e., he is slightly crazy. 

SLAVEY, a maid servant. 

SLEWED, drunk, or intoxicated. Sea term. When a vessel 

changes the tack she, as it were, staggers, the sails flap, she 

gradually heels over, and the wind catching the waiting 

canvas, she glides off at another angle. The coarse pursued 

by an intoxicated, or slewed man, is supposed to be analagous 

to that of the ship. 

SLICK, an A mericanism, very prevalent in England since the 

publication of Judge Haliburton's facetious stories. As an 

adjective, slick means rapidly, effectually, utterly; as a 

verb, it has the force of " to despatch rapidly," turn off, get 

done with a thing. 

SLICK A DEE, a pocket book. 

SLING, to pass from one person to another. 

SLIP, "to give the slip," to run away, or elude pursuit. Shai;espere 

has "you gave me the counterfeit," in Romeo and 

Juliet. Giving the slip, however, is a Sea phrase, and refers 

to fastening an anchor and chain cable to a floating 

buoy, or water cask, until such a time arrives that is convenient 

to return and take them on board. In fastening the 

cable, the home end Is slipped through the hawse pipe. 

Weighing anchor is a noisy task, so that giving it the slip 

infers to leave it in quietness. 

SLIP, or LET slip ; 

" to slip into a man," to give him a sound 

beating ; 

" to let slip at a cove," to rush violently upon 

him, and assault with vigour. 

SLOG, or SLOGGEB (its original form), to beat, baste, or wallop. 

Gei-mcm, schlagen; ox', perhaps a vulgar corruption of 

slaughter. The pretended Greek derivation from aXoyo), 

which Punch puts in the mouth of the schoolboy, in his 

impression of 4th May, 1859, is of course only intended to 

mystify grandmamma, there being no such word in the 

language. 

SLOGGERS, i.e., 

at Cambridge. 

SLOGGING, a good beating. 

slow-goers, the second division of race-boats 

At Oxford they are called toepids.— Univ.

MODEEN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 219 

SLOP, cheap, or ready made, as applied to clothing, is generally 

supposed to be a modern appropriation ; but it was used in 

this sense in 1691, by Maydman, in his Naval Speculatiom ; 

and by Chaucer two centuries before that. Slops properly 

signify sailors' working clothes. 

SLOP, a policeman. Probably at first lack slang, but now 

SLOPE, to decamp, to run, or rather slip away. Originally from 

LOPE, to make off; the s probably became affixed as a portion 

of the preceding word, as in the case of "let's lope," let us 

run. Americanism. 

SLOPS, chests or packages of tea; "he shook a slum of slops," 

i.e., 

stole a chest of tea. 

SLOUR, to lock, or fasten. 

SLOUR'D, buttoned up; sloub'd hoxter, an inside pocket 

buttoned up. 

SLOWED, to be locked up—in prison. 

SLUICERY, a gin shop or public house. 

SLUM, a letter. 

SLUM, a chest, or package. See slops, 

SLUM, gammon " 

; up to slum," wide awake, knowing, 

"And this, without more SLUit, began, 

Over a flowing Pol-liouse can. 

To settle, without botheration. 

The rigs of this here tip-top nation." 

Jack Uandall's Diary, 1820. 

SLUM THE GORGER, to cheat on the sly, to be an eye servant. 

Slum in this sense is old cant. 

SLUMMING, passing bad money. 

SLUMS, or BACK SLUMS, dark retreats, low neighbourhoods 

*' 

the Westminster slums," favourite haunts for thieves. 

SLUSHY, a ship's cook. 

SMACK SMOOTH, even, level with the surface, quickly. 

SMALL BEER, " he does't tbiuk small beee of himself," i.e., 

Small coals 

he has a great opinion of his own importance. 

is also used in the same sense. 

SMASH, to become bankrupt, or worthless ; 

smash ;" to break, or " go to the dogs." 

•' 

to go all to 

SMASH, to pass counterfeit money. 

SMASHER, one who passes bad coin. 

SMASHFEEDER, a Britannia metal spoon,—the best imitation 

shillings are made from this metal.


SMELLER, a blow on the nose, or a noser. 

SMIGQINS, soup served to convicts on board the hulks. 

SMISH, a shirt, or chemise. Corruption of the Span.— See MiSH. 

SMITHERS, or smithereens, "all to smithereens," all to 

smash. Smither, is a Lincolnshire word for a fragment. 

SMOKE, to detect, or penetrate an artifice. 

SMUDGE, to smear, obliterate, daub. Corruption of smutch.— 

Times, 10th August, 1859. 

SMUG, extremely neat, after the fashion, in order. 

SMUG, to snatch another's property and run. 

SMUGGINGS, snatchings, or purloinings,—shouted out by boys, 

when snatching the tops, or small play property, of other 

lads, and then running off at full speed. 

" Tops are in ; spin 'em asin. 

Tops are out ; sunGGiif g about," 

SMUT, a copper boiler. Also, the " blacks " from a furnace. 

SMUTTY, obscene,—vulgar as applied to conversation. 

SNACK, booty, or share. Also, a light repast Old cant and 

Gipsey term. 

SNAFFLED, arrested, " pulled up,"—so termed from a kind of 

horse's bit, called a snaffle. In East Anglia, to snaffle 

is to talk foolishly. 

SNAGGLE TEETH, uneven, and unpleasant looking dental 

operators.— West. Snags {Americanism), ends of sunken 

drift-wood sticking out of the water, on which river steamers 

are often wrecked. 

SNAGGLING, angling after geese with a hook and line, the bait 

being a worm or snail. The goose swallows the bait, and is 

quietly landed and bagged. 

SNAGGY, cross, crotchetty, malicious. 

SNAM, to snatch, or rob from the person. 

SNAPPS, share, portion ; any articles or circumstances out of 

which money may be made ; 

" looking out for snapfs," 

waiting for windfalls, or odd jobs.— Old. Scotch, chits,— 

term also used for " coppers," or halfpence. 

SNEAKSMAN, a shoplifter ; a petty, cowardly thief. 

SNEEZER, a snuff box ; a pocket-handkerchief. 

SNEEZE LURKER, a thief who throws snuff in a person's face 

and then robs bim. 

SNID, a sixpence. Scotch.


SNIGGER, " I'm sniggered if you will," a mild form of swearing. 

Another form of this is jiggered. 

SNIGGERING, laughing to oneself.—^-asi!. 

SNIP, a tailor. 

SNIPE, a long bill ; also a term for attorneys,—a race remarkable 

for their propensity to long bills. 

SNIPES, " a pair of snipes," a pair of scissors. They are occasionally 

made in the form of that bird. 

SNITCHERS, persons who turn queen's evidence, or who tell 

tales. In Scotland, snitchers signify handcuffs. 

SNOB, a low, vulgar, or afifected person. Supposed to be from 

the nickname usually applied to a Crispin, or a maker of 

shoes ; but believed by a writer in Notes and Queries to be 

a contraction of the Latin, sine obolo. A more probable 

derivation, however, has just been forwarded by an ingenious 

correspondent. He supposes that nobs, i.e., Nohiles, was 

appended iu lists to the names of persons of gentle birth, 

whilst those who had not that distinction were marked 

down as s. nob., i.e., sine nobilitate, without marks of gentility,—thus 

reversing its meaning. Another "word-twister" 

remarks that, as at college sons of nobleman wrote after 

their names in the admission lists, Jil nob., son of a lord, and 

hence all young noblemen were called nobs, and what they 

did NOBBY, so those who imitated them would be called 

quasi-nobs, " like a nob," which by a process of contraction 

would be shortened to si-nob, and then snob, one who pretends 

to be what he is not, and apes his betters. The short 

and expressive terms which many think fitly represent the 

three great estates of the realm, nob, snob, and mob, 

were all originally slang words. The last has safely passed 

through the vulgar ordeal of the streets, and found respectable 

quarters in the standard dictionaries. 

SNOBBISH, stuck up, proud, make believe. 

SNOB-STICK, a workman who refuses to join in strikes, or 

trade unions. Query, properly knob-stick. 

SNOOKS, an imaginary personage often brought forward as the 

answer to an idle question, or as the perpetrator of a senseless 

joke. 

SNOOZE, or snoodge (vulgar pronunciation), to sleep or doze. 

SNOT, a term of reproach applied to persons by the vulgar 

when vexed or annoyed. In a Westminster school vocsibulary 

for boys, published in the last century, the term is


curiously applied. Its proper meaning is the glandular 

mucus discharged through the nose. 

SNOTTER, or wipe-hauler, a pickpocket who commits great 

depredations upon gentlemen's pocket-handkerchiefs.— 

North. 

SNOTTINGER, a coarse word for a pocket-handkerchief. The 

German schnupftuch is, however, nearly as plain. A'handkerchief 

was also anciently called a muckingeb, or 

MUCKENDER. 

SNOTS, small hream, a slimy kind of flat fish. Norwich. 

SNOW, wet linen. 

SNOW GATHERERS, or snow-droppers, rogues who steal 

linen from hedges and drying grounds. 

SNUFF, " up to SNUFF," knowing and sharp ; 

" to take snuff," 

to be offended. Shakespere uses snuff in the sense of 

anger, or passion. Snuffy, tipsy. 

SNYDER, a tailor. 

German, Schneider. 

SOAP, flattery. See soft soap. 

SOFT, foolish, inexperienced. An old term for bank notes. 

SOFT-SOAP, or soft-sawder, flattery, ironical praise. 

SOFT TACK, bread.-;Sea. 

SOLD, "sold again ! and the money taken," gulled, deceived. 

Vide SELL. 

SOLD UP, or OUT, broken down, bankrupt. 

SOLDIER, a red herring. 

SON OF A GUN, a contemptuous title for a man. In the army 

it is sometimes applied to an artilleryman. 

SOOT BAG, a reticule. 

SOP, a soft or foolish man. Abbreviation of milksop. 

SOPH (abbreviation of sophister), a title peculiar to the University 

of Cambridge. Undergraduates are junior sophs 

before passing their " Little Go," or first University examination, 

senior sophs after that. 

SOUND, to pump, or draw information from a person in an artf\xl 

manner. 

SOW, the receptacle into which the liquid iron is poured in a 

gun-foundiy. The melted metal poured from it is termed 

PIG.— Workmen's terms. 

SOW'S BABY, a pig ; sixpence. 

SPANK, a smack, or hard slap.


SPANK, to move along quickly ; hence a fast horse or vessel is 

said to be " a spanker to go." 

SPANKING, large, fine, or strong ; e.g., a spanking pace, a 

SPANKING breeze, a spanking fellow. 

SPECKS, damaged oranges. 

SPEEIj, to run away, make off; " SPEEL the drum," to go off 

with stolen property. North. 

SPELL, " to SPELL for a thing," hanker after it, intimate a desire 

to possess it, 

SPELLKEN, or speelkbn, a playhouse. German, spielen. 

—See KEN. Don Juan. 

SPICK AND SPAN, applied to anything that is quite new and 

fresh . Uudibras. 

SPIFFED, slightly intoxicated. Scotch slamg. 

SPIFFS, the percentage allowed by drapers to their young men 

when they effect a sale of old-fashioned or undesirable 

stock. 

SPIFFY, spruce, well-dressed, tout d, la mode. 

SPIFLICATE, to confound, silence, or thrash. 

SPILT, thrown from a horse or chaise. See purl. 

SPIN, to reject from an examination. Army. 

SPIN-EM ROUNDS, a street game consisting of a piece of brass, 

wood, or iron, balanced on a pin, and turned quickly around 

on a board, when the point, arrow shaped, stops at a number 

and decides the bet one way or the other. The contrivance 

very much resembles a sea compass, and was formerly the 

gambling accompaniment of Loudon piemen. The apparatus 

then was erected on the tin lids of their pie cans, and 

the bets were ostensibly for pies, but more frequently for 

" coppers," when no policeman frowned upon the scene, 

and when two or three apprentices or porters happened to 

meet. 

SPINIKEN, a workhouse. 

SPIRT, or spurt, " to put on a spirt," to make an increased 

exertion for a brief space, to attain one's end ; a nei'voua 

effort. 

SPITFIRE, a passionate pei-son. 

SPLENDIFEROUS, sumptuous, first-rate. 

SPLICE, to marry; "and the two shall become one flesh." 

Sea. 

SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE, to take a drink. -&«.


SPLIT, to inform against one's companions, to tell tales. " To 

SPLIT with a person," to cease acquaintanceship, to quarrel. 

SPLODGER, a lout, an awkward countryman. 

SPOFFY, a bustling busy-body is said to be spofft. 

SPONGE, " to throw up the sponge," to submit, give over the 

struggle,—from the practice of throwing up the sponge 

used to cleanse the combatants' faces, at a prizefight, as a 

signal that the " mill " is concluded. 

SPOON, synonymous with spooney. A spoon has been defined 

to be " a thing that touches a lady's lips without kissing 

them." 

SPOONEY, a weak-minded and foolish person, eflFeminate or 

fond " 

; to be spooney on a girl," to be foolishly attached 

to one. 

SPOONS, " when I was spoons with you," i.e., when young, and 

in our courting days before marriage. Charles Mathews, in 

the farce of Everybody's Friend. 

SPORT, to exhibit, to wear, &c.,—a word which is made to do 

duty in a variety of senses, especially at the University. 

See the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. "To spokt a new tile;" 

" to SPOBT an uSgrotat" {i.e., a permission from the " Dons" 

to abstain from lectures, &c., on account of illness); "to sport 

one's oak," to shut the outer door and exclude the public, 

—especially duns, and boring acquaintances. Common also 

in the Inns of Court.— >See Notes and Queries, 2nd series, 

vol. viiL, p. 492, and Gentleman's Magazine, December, 1794. 

SPORTING DOOR, the outer door of chambers, also called the 

OAK. See under spoet.— University. 

SPOTTED, to be known or marked by the police. 

SPOUT, "up the spout," at the pawnbroker's; spouting, 

pawning. See pop for origin. 

SPOUT, to preach, or make speeches ; spouter, a preacher or 

lecturer. 

SPRAT, sixpence. 

SPREAD, butter. 

SPREAD, a lady's shawl. Spread, at the East end of London, 

a feast, or a tightener ; at the West end a fashionable reunion, 

an entertainment, display of good things. 

SPREE, a boisterous piece of merriment " 

; going on the spbee," 

starting out with intent to have a frolic. French, esprit. 

In the Dutch language, spreeuw is a jester.


SPRINGER-UP, a tailor who sells low-priced ready made 

clothing, and gives starvation wages to the poor men and 

women who " make up" for him. The clothes are said to 

be SPRUNGTJP, or " blown together." 

SPRY, active, strong, manly. Americanism. 

SPUDDY, a seller of bad potatoes. In Scotland, a SPUD is a raw 

potato ; and roasted spuds are those cooked in the cinders 

with their jackets on. 

SPUNGING-HOUSE, the sheriff's officer's house, where prisoners, 

when arrested for debt, are sometimes taken. As 

extortionate charges are made there for accommodation, 

the name ia far from inappropriate, 

SPUNK, spirit, ^re, courage, mettle. 

" [n that snus room, where any man of spunk 

Would find it a hard matter to get drunk." 

Peter Pindar, i., 245. 

Common in America. For derivation see the following. 

SPUNKS, lucifer matches. Herefordshire; Scotland. Spunk, 

says Urry, in his MS. notes to Ray, " is the excrescency of 

some tree, of which they make a sort of tinder to light 

their pipes with." 

SPUNK-FENCER, a lucifer match seller. 

SQUABBY, flat, short and thick, 

SQUARE, honest " 

; on the square," i.e., fair and strictly 

honest " 

; to turn square," to reform, and get one's living 

in an honest manner,—the opposite of cross. 

SQUARE, " to be square with a man," to be even with him, or 

to be revenged ; 

" to square up to a man," to offer to fight 

him. ShaJcespere uses square in the sense of to quarrel. 

SQUARE COVE, an honest man. 

SQUARE MOLL, an honest woman. 

SQUARE RIGGED, well dressed.—êa. 

SQUARING HIS NIBS, giving a policeman money. 

SQUEEZE, silk. 

SQUIB, a temporary jeu d'esprit, which, like the firework of 

that denomination, sparkles, bounces, stinks, and vanishes. 

Grose. 

SQUINNY-EYED, squmtmg.—ShaJcespere. 

SQUIRT, a doctor, or chemist. 

STAFF NAKED, gin. 

STAG, a shilling. 

Q


STAG, a term applied during the railway mania to a speculator 

without capital, who took " scrip" in " Diddlesex Junction." 

and other lines, ejus et sui generis, got the shares up to a premium, 

and then sold out. Punch represented the house of 

Hudson, " the Railway King," at Albert Gate, with a stag 

on it, in allusion to this term. 

STAG, to demand money, to " cadge." 

STAG, to see, discover, or watch,—like a stag at gaze ; 

" stag 

the push," look at the crowd. Also, to dun, or demand 

payment. 

STAGGER, one who looks out, or watches. 

STAGGERING BOB, an animal to whom the knife only just 

anticipates death from natural disease or accident,—said of 

meat on that account unfit for human food. 

STALE, to evacuate urine. Stable term, 

STALL, to lodge, or put up at a public house. Also, to act a 

part. Theatrical, 

STALL, or stall off, a dodge, a blind, or an excuse. Stall is 

ancient cant. 

STALL OFF, to blind, excuse, hide, to screen a robbery during 

the perpetration of it by an accomplice. 

STALL YOUR MUG, go away ; spoken sharply by any one who 

wishes to get rid of a troublesome or inconvenient person. 

STALLSMAN, an accomplice. 

STAMPERS, shoes.—4nc(67!^ cant. 

STAND, " to stand treat," to pay for a friend's entertainment 

to bear expense; to put up with treatment, good or ill; 

" this house stood me in £1,000," i.e., cost that sum " 

; to 

STAND PAD," to beg on the curb with a small piece of paper 

pinned on the breast, inscribed " I'm starvioig." 

STANDING, the position at a street comer, or on the curb of a 

market street, regiilarly occupied by a costermonger, or 

street seller. 

STANDING BATTERERS, men who take a stand on the curb 

of a public thorou;^hfare, and deliver prepared speeches to 

effect a sale of any articles they have to vend. See batterer. 

STANGEY, a tailor ; a person under petticoat government, 

derived from the custom of " riding the stang," mentioned 

in Hudibras : 

" It is a custom used of course 

Where the grej mare is the better horse."


STARK-NAKED (originally strip-me naked, vide Randall's 

Diary, 1820), raw gin. Bidwer's Paul Clifford. 

STARCHY, stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, disdainful, 

cross. 

STAR IT, to perform as the centre of attraction, with inferior 

subordinates to set off one's abilities. Theatrical. 

STAR THE GLAZE, to break the window or show glass of a 

jeweller or other tradesman, and take any valuable articles, 

and run away. Sometimes the glass is cut with a diamond, 

and a stiip of leather fastened to the piece of glass cut out 

to keep it from falling in and making a noise. Another plan 

is to cut the sash. 

START, " THE START," London,—the great starting point for 

beggars and tramps. 

START, a proceeding of any kind ; a rum start," an odd circumstance 

; 

" to get the start of a person," to anticipate, 

him, overreach him. 

STASH, to cease doing anything, to i-efrain, be quiet, leave off; 

"stash it, there, you sir !" i.e., be quiet, sir ; to give over a 

lewd or intemperate course of life is termed stashing it. 

STEEL, the house of correction in London, formerly named the 

Baatile, but since shortened to steel. 

STEEL BAR DRIVERS, or flingers, journeymen tailors. 

STEMS, the legs. 

STEP IT, to run away, or make off. 

STICK, a derogatory expression for a person ; 

" a rum " or " odd 

STICK,'' a cufious man. More generally a " poor stick."— 

Provincial. 

STICK, " cut your stick," be off, or go away ; either simply 

equivalent to a recommendation to prepare a walking staff 

in readiness for a journey—in allusion to the Eastern 

custom of cutting a stick before setting out—or from the 

ancient mode of reckoning by notches or tallies on a stick. 

In Cornwall the peasantry tally sheaves of corn by cuts in 

a stick, reckoning by the score. C0T tour stick in this 

sense may meao to make your mark and pass on—and so 

realise the meaning of the phrase " in the nick (or notch) 

OF TIME." Sir J. Emerson Tennent, in Notes and Queries 

(December, 1869), considers the phrase equivalent to 

" cutting the connection," and suggests a possible origin 

in the prophets breaking the staves of "Beauty" and 

" Bands," vide Zech., xi., 10, 14. 

STICK, to cheat ; 

" he got siucK," he was taken in ; stick, to 

Q2


forget one's part in a performance Theairical ; stick on, 

to overcharge or defraud ; stick up for, to defend a 

person, especially when slandered in his absence ; stick up 

TO, to pei'severe in courting or attacking, whether in fistycuflPs 

or argument " 

; to stick in one's gizzard," to rankle 

in one's heart " 

; to stick to a person," to adhere to one, be 

his friend through adverse circumstances. 

STICKS, furniture, or household chattels " 

; pick up your sticks 

and cut !" summary advice to a person to take himself and 

furniture away. Cumberland. 

STICKS, pistolB. Nearly obsolete. 

STICK-UPS, or gills, shirt collars. 

STICKINGS, bruised or damaged meat sold to sausage makers 

and penny pie shops. North. 

STICKY, wax. 

STIFF, paper, a biU of acceptance, &c. ; 

" how did you get it, 

STIFF or liard ?" i.e., did he pay you cash or give a bill ? 

STIFF FENCER, a street seller of writing paper. 

STIFF 'UN, a corpse. Term used by undertakers. 

STILTON, " that's the stilton," or " it is not the STiLTON," 

i.e., that is quite the thing, or that is not quite the thing ; 

—polite rendering of " that is not the cheese," which see. 

STINGO, strong liquor. Yorkshire. 

STINK, a disagreeable exposure. 

STINKOMALEE, a name given to the then New London University 

by Theodore Hook. 

Some question about TrincomaZee 

was agitated at the same time. It is still applied by 

the students of the old Universities, who regard it with disfavour 

from its admitting all denominations. 

STIPE, a stipendiary magistrate. Provincial. 

STIR, a prison, a lock-up " 

; in stib," in jail. Anglo Saxon, styb, 

correction, punishment. 

STIR UP SUNDAY, the Sunday next before Advent, the 

collect for that day commencing with the words " Stir up." 

Schoolboys, growing excited at the prospect of the vacation, 

irreverently commemorate it by stirring up — pushing and 

poking each other. Crib ceust Monday and tug button 

TUESDAY are distinguished by similar tricks ; while on 

pay-off WEDNESDAY they retaliate small gi-udges in a playful 

facetious way. Forby says, good housewives in Norfolk 

consider themselves reminded by the name to mix the 

ingredients for their Christmas mince pies.


STOCKDOLAGER, a heavy blow, a " finisher." Italian, 

STOCCADO, a fencing term. 

STODGE, to surfeit, gorge, or clog with food. 

STONE JUG, a prison. 

STOOK, a pocket-handkerchief. 

STOOK HAULER, or buzzeb, a thief who takes pocket-handkerchiefs. 

STOP, a detective policeman. 

STORY, a falsehood,—the soft synonyme for a lie, allowed in 

family circles and boarding-schools. A Puritanism that 

came in fashion with the tirade against romances, all novels 

and stories being considered as dangerous and false. 

STOTOR, a heavy blow, a settlek.— Old cant. 

STOW, to leave off, or have done ; 

" stow it, the gorger's leary," 

leave off, the person is looking. See stash, with which it is 

synonymous. Ancient cant. 

STOW FAKING ! leave off there, be quiet ! faking implying 

anything that may be going on. 

STRAW. Married ladies are said to be " in the straw " at 

their accouchements. The phrase is a coarse allusion to 

farm-yard animals in a similar condition. 

STRAWING, selling straws in the streets (generally for a 

penny) and giving the purchaser a paper (indecent or 

political), or a gold (!) ring,—neither of which the patterer 

states he is allowed to sell. 

STREAK, to decamp, run away. Saxon. In America the 

phrase is " to make stkeaks," or " make teacks." 

STREAKY, irritated, ill-tempered. 

STREET PITCHERS, negro minstrels, ballad singers, long song 

men, men " working a board " on which have been painted 

various exciting scenes in some terrible drama, the details of 

which the street pitcher is bawling out, and selling in a 

little bouk or broadsheet (price one penny) ; or any persons 

who make a stand in the streets, and sell articles for their 

living. 

STRETCH, abbreviation of " stretch one's neck," to hang, be 

executed as a malefactor. Bulwer's Paul Clifford. 

STRETCH, twelve months, — generally used to intimate the 

time any one has been sentenced by the judge or magistrate. 

One stretch is to be imprisoned twelve months, two 

STRETCH is two yeai's, three stretch is three years, and so on. 

STRETCHER, a falsehood.


STRETCHER, a contrivance with handles, used by the police to 

carry off persons who are violent or drunk. 

STRETCHER FENCER, one who sells braces. 

STRETCHING MATCH, an execution 

STRIKE ME LUCKY ! 

See stretch. 

an expression used by the lower orders 

when making a bargain, derived from the old custom of 

striking hands together, leaving in that of the seller a luck 

PENNY as an earnest that the bargain is concluded. la 

Ireland, at cattle markets, &c., a penny, or other small coin, 

is always given by the buyer to the seller to ratify the 

bargain. Hudibras. Anciently this was called a god's 

PENNY. 

" With that he cast him a God's peny." Heir of Linne. 

The origin of the phrase being lost sight of, like that of 

many others, it is often corrupted now-a-days into strike 

ME SILLY. 

STRIKE THE JIGGER, to pick the lock, or break open the door. 

STROMMEL, straw. Ancient cant. Halliwell says that in 

Norfolk STRUMMEL is a name for hah*. 

STRONG, " to come it strong."— See come. 

STUCK-UP, " purse-proud "— a form of snobbishness very 

common in those who have risen in the world. Mr. Albert 

Smith has written some amusing papers on the Natural 

History of stuck-up People. 

STUFF, money. 

STUFF, to make false but plausible statements, to praise ironically, 

to make game of a person,—literally, to stuff or cram 

him with gammon or falsehood. 

STUMP, to go on foot. 

STUMPED, bowled out, done for, bankrupt, poverty stricken. 

Cricketing term. 

STUMPS, legs, or feet. 

STUMPY, money. 

STUMP UP, to pay one's share, 

forth the money reluctantly. 

STUN, to astonish. 

STUNNER, a first-rate person or article. 

to pay the reckoning, to bring 

STUlfNERS, feelings of great astonishment ; " it put the stunners 

on me," it confounded me. 

STUNNING, first-rate, very good. " Stunning pears," shouts 

the coster, " only eight a penny." Vide Athenasum, 26th

MODER!^ SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 231 

March, 1859. Sometimes amplified to stunning joe 

BANKS ! when the expression is supposed to be in its most 

intense form. Joe Banks was a noted character in the last 

generation. He was the proprietor of a public-house in 

Dyott-street, Seven Dials, and afterwards, on the demolition 

of the Rookei"y, of another in Cranbournealley. His 

houses became well-known from their being the resort of 

the worst characters, at the same time that the strictest 

decorum was always maintained in them. Joe Banks also 

acquired a remarkable notoriety by acting as a medium 

betwixt thieves and their victims. Upon the proper 

payment to Joe, a watch or a snuff box would at any time 

be restored to its lawful owner— " no questions in any case 

being asked." The most daring depredators in London 

placed the fullest confidence in Joe, and it is believed 

(although the Biographic Universelle is quiet upon this 

point) that he never, in any instance, " sold " them. He 

was of the middle height, stout, and strongly made, and 

was always noted for a showy pin, and a remarkably 

STUNNING neck-tie. It was this peculiarity in the costume 

of Mr. Banks, coupled with those true and tried qualities 

as a friend, for which, as I have just remarked, he was 

famous, that led his customers to proclaim him as stunning 

JOE banks ! The Marquis of Douro, Colonel Cbatterley, and 

men of their stamp, were accustomed to resort to a private 

room at his house, when too late or too early to gain 

admittance to the clubs or more aristocratic establishments. 

STUNNED ON SKILLY, to 

be sent to prison and compelled 

to eat sKiLLT, or skilliqolee. 

STURABAN, a prison. Gipsey, distababin. 

SUCK, a parasite, flatterer of the "nobs." University. 

SUCK, to pump, or draw information from a person. 

SUCK-CASSA, a public-house. 

SUCK THE MONKEY, to rob a cask of liquor by inserting a 

straw through a gimlet hole, and sucking a portion of the 

contents. 

SUCK UP, " to SUCK UP to a person," to insinuate oneself into 

his good graces. 

SUFFERER, a tailor. 

SUIT, a watch and seals. 

SULKY, a one-horse chaise, having only room for one person. 

SUN IN THE EYES, to have too much drink.—Dickens. 

SUP, abbreviation of supernumerary.— Theatrical,


SUPER, a watch ; super-scbev?ing, stealing watches. 

SURF, an actor who frequently pursues another calling. Theat. 

SWADDLER, a Wesleyan Methodist ; a name originally given 

to members of that body by the Irish mob ; said to have 

originated vdth an ignorant Romanist, to whom the words 

of the English Bible were a novelty, and who, hearing one 

of John Wesley's preachers mention the swaddling clothes 

of the Holy Infant, in a sermon on Christmas-day at Dublin, 

shouted out in derision, " A swaddlerf a gwaddler /" as if 

the whole story were the preacher's invention. Southey's 

Lift of Wesley, vol. ii., p. 109. 

SWADDY, or coolie, a soldier. The former was originally 

applied to a discharged soldier, and perhaps came from 

SHODDY, of which soldiers' coats are made. 

SWAG, a lot or plenty of anything, a portion or division of 

property. In Australia the term is used for the luggage 

carried by diggers : in India the word loot is used. Scotch, 

SWEG, or BWACK J 

German, sweig, a flock. Old cant for a 

shop. 

SWAG, booty, or plundered property; "collar the swag," seize 

the booty. 

SWAG-SHOP, a warehouse where " Brummagem" and general 

wares are sold,— fancy trinkets, plated goods, &c. Jews are 

the general proprietors, and the goods are excessively low 

priced, trashy, and showy. Swag-shops were formerly 

plunder depots.— Old cant. 

SWAGSMAN, one who carries the booty after a burglary. 

SWANKEY, cheap beer.— TFesi. 

SWAP, to exchange. Grose says it is Irish cant, but the term 

is now included in most dictionaries as an allowed vulgarism. 

SWEAT, to extract money from a person, to "bleed," to 

squander riches. Bulwer. 

SWEATER, common term for a "cutting" or "grinding" employer. 

SWEEP, a low or shabby man. 

SWEET, loving or fond ; 

" how sweet he was upon the moll," 

what marked attention he paid the girl. 

i.e., 

SWELL, a man of importance ; a person with a showy, jaunty 

exterior ; 

" a rank swell," a very " flashly" dressed person, 

a man who by excessive dress apes a higher position than 

he actually occupies. Anything is said to be sw£LL or


SWELLISH that looks showy, or is many coloured, or is of a 

desirable quality. Dickens and Thackeray are termed great 

SWELLS in literature ; so indeed are the first persons in the 

learned professions. 

SWELL FENCER, a street salesman of needles. 

SWELL HUNG IN CHAINS, said of a showy man in the 

habit of wearing much jewellery. 

SWIG, to drink. Saxon, swigan. 

SWIG, a hearty drink. 

SWIM, " a good SWIM." a good run of luck, a long time out of 

the policeman's clutches. Thieves' term. 

SWINDLER, although a recognised word in respectable dictionaries, 

commenced service as a slang term. It was used 

as such by the poor Londoners against the German Jews 

who set up in London about the year 1762, also by our 

soldiers in the German War about that time. Schwindel, 

in German, signifies to cheat. 

SWING, to be hanged. 

SWINGING, large, huge. 

SWIPES, sotir or small beer. Swipe, to drink—Sea. 

SWIPEY (from swipes), intoxicated. 

SWISHED, married. 

SWIZZLE, small beer, drink. 

SWOT, mathematics ; also a mathematician ; as a verb, to work 

hard for an examination, to be diligent in one's studies. 

Army. 

This word originated at the great slang manufactory for 

the army, the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in the 

broad Scotch pronunciation of Dr. Wallace, one of the 

Professors, of the word sweat.— See Notes and Queries, vol. i., 

p. 369. 

T, " to suit to a T," to fit to a nicety.— Old. Perhaps from the 

T-square of carpenters, by which the accuracy of work is 

tested. 

TACKLE, clothes.—-Sea. 

TAFFY (corruption of David), a Welshman. Compare sawnby 

(from Alexander), a Scotchman. 

TAGRAG-AND-BOBTAIL, a mixed crowd of low people, 

mobility. 

TAIL BUZZER, a thief who picks coat pockets. 

TAKE, to succeed, or be patronised ; 

" do you think tbe new


opera will take ?" " 'No, because the same company took 

so badly under the old management;" "to take on," to 

grieve ; ShaJcespere uses the word taking in this sense. To 

" TAKE UP for any one," to protect or defend a person ; 

" to 

TAKE OFF," to mimic ; 

" to take heart," to have courage 

*' 

to TAKE down a peg or two," to humiliate, or tame ; 

" to 

take up," to reprove; "to take aftee," to resemble; "to 

TAKE IN," to cheat or defraud, from the lodging-house 

keepers' advertisements, " smgle men taken in and done 

FOR,"—an engagement which is as frequently performed in 

a bad as a good sense ; 

" to take the field, when said of 

a General, to commence operations against the enemy 

when a racing man takes the field he stakes his money 

against the favourite. 

TAKE BEEF, to run away. 

TAKE IN, a cheating or swindling transaction,—sometimes 

termed " a dead take in." Shakespere has take in in the 

sense of conquering. To be had, or to be spoke to, were 

formerly synonymous phrases with TO be taken in. 

TALLY, five dozen bunches of turnips. 

TAN, to beat or thrash ; I'll tan your hide, i.e^ give you a good 

beating. 

TANNER, a sixpence. Gipsey, tawno, little, or Latin, teneb, 

slender ? 

TANNY, or teeny, little. Gipsey, tawno, little. 

TANTREMS, pranks, capers, or frolicking ; from the Tarantula 

dance ? See account of the involuntary phrensy and 

motions caused by the bite of the tarantula in Italy. 

Penny Cyclopcedia. 

TAPE, gin,—term with female servants. 

TAPER, to gradually give over, to run short. 

TAP TUB, the Morning Advertiser. 

TAT BOX, a dice box. 

TATER, " s'elp my tater," another street evasion of a profane 

oath, sometimes varied by " s'elp my greens." 

TATLER, a watch ; "nimming a tatlee," stealing a watch. 

TATS, dice. 

TATS, old rags ; milky tats, white rap. 

TATTING, gathering old rags. 

TAW, a large or principal marble " 

; I'll be one on your taw," 

I will pay you out, or be even with you,—a simile taken


from boys aiming always at winning the taw when playing 

at marbles. 

TEAGUELAND, Ireland. 

TEETH, " he has cut his eye tketh," i.e., is old and cute enough. 

TEETH-DRAWING, wrenching off knockers. 

TEETOTALLER, a total abstainer from alcoholic drinks. 

TEETOTALLY, amplification of totally. 

TELL-ON, to tell about. 

TENPENCE TO THE SHILLING, a vulgar phrase denoting 

a deficiency in intellect. 

TESTER, sixpence. From testone, a shilling in the reign of 

Henry VIII., but a sixpence in the time of Q. Elizabeth. 

Shakespere. French, teste, or tete, the head of the 

monarch on the coin. 

TEVISS, a shilling. 

THEATRE, a poUce court. 

THICK, intimate, familiar. Scotch, chief; "the two are very 

CHIEF now," i.e., friendly. 

THICK-UN, a sovereign ; a crown piece, or five shillings. 

THIMBLE, or tack, a watch. 

THIMBLE-RIG, a noted cheating game played at fairs and places 

of great public thronging, consisting of two or three thimbles 

rapidly and dexterously placed over a pea, when the 

THIMBLE-RIGGER, Suddenly ceasing, asks you under which 

thimble the pea is to be found, if you are not a practised 

hand you will lose nine times out of ten any bet you may 

happen to make with him. The pea is sometimes concealed 

under his nail. 

THIMBLE TWISTERS, thieves who rob persons of their 

watches. 

THINSKINNED, over nice, petulant, apt to get a " raw." 

THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND, unsteady from drink.—Sea. 

THREE- UP, a gambling game played by costers. Three halfpennies 

are thrown up, and when they fall all " heads," or 

all " tails," it is a mark ; and the man who gets the greatest 

number of marks out of a given amount—three, five, or 

more—wins. The costers are very quick and skilful at this 

game, and play fairly at it amongst themselves ; but should 

a stranger join in they invariably unite to cheat him. 

THRUMS, threepence. 

THRUMMER, a threepenny bit.


THRUPS, threepence. 

THUMPING, large, fine, or strong. 

THUNDERER, the Tirneg newspaper. 

THUNDERING, large, extra-sized. 

TIBBING OUT, going out of hoxmAs.—Charterhouse. 

TICK, credit, trust. Johnson says it is a corruption of ticket,— 

tradesmen's bills being formerly writteu on tickets or cards. 

On tick, therefore, is equivalent to on ticket, or on trust. 

In use 1668. Cuthbert Bede, in Notes and Queries, supplies 

me with an earlier date, from the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam. 

" No matter upon landing^ whether you have money or no— you may 

swim in twentie of their boats over the river upoif tickbi.— 

Decker's Gvl'a Hornbook, 1609. 

TICKER, a watch. 

TICKET, " that's the ticket," Le., what was wanted, or what is 

best. Corruption of " that is not etiquette," by adding, in 

vulgar pronunciation, th to the first e of etiquette ; or, perhaps, 

from TICKET, a bill or invoice. This phrase is sometimes 

extended into "that's the ticket for soup," in 

allusion to the card given to beggars for immediate relief at 

soup kitchens. See tick. 

TIDY, tolerably, or pretty well ; 

" how did you get on to-day 

— ?'' 

" Oh, TEDT." Saxon. 

TIED UP, given over, finished ; 

also married, in allusion to the 

Hymenial knot, unless a jocose allusion be intended to the 

halter (altar). 

TIFFIN, a breakfast, dejeuner a la fov/rchette.— Anglo Indian 

slang. 

TIGER, a boy employed to wait on gentlemen ; one who waits 

on ladies is a page. 

TIGHT, close, stingy ; hard up, short of cash ; TIGHT, spruce, 

strong, active; "a tight lad," a smart, active young fellow 

; TIGHT, drunk, or nearly 'so " 

; tight laced," puritanical, 

over-precise. Money is said to be tight, when the 

public, from want of confidence in the aspect of a£fair3, 

are not inclined to speculate. 

TIGHTNER, a dinner, or hearty meal. 

TIKE, or BUFFER lurking, dog stealing. 

TILE, a hat ; a covering for the head. 

" I'm a gent, I'm a gent. 

In the Regent-street style, 

Examine my vest. 

And look at my hlb."— PopvXar Song.

MODEEN SLANG AND CANT WOEDS. 237 

Sometimes used in another sense, "having a tile loose," i.e., 

being slightly crazy. See pantile. 

TIMBER MERCHANT, or spunk fencer, a lucifer match seller. 

TIME 0' DAY, a dodge, the latest aspect of affairs; " that's your 

TIME o' DAT," i.e., Euge, well done; to PUT a person up to the 

TIME o' DAY, let him know what is o' 

in the knowledge needful for him. 

clock,—to instruct him 

TIN, money, — generally applied to silver. 

TINGE, the percentage allowed by drapers and clothiers to their 

assistants, upon the sale of old-fashioned articles. See 

SPIFFS. 

TIN-POT, " he plays a tin-pot game," i.e., a low or shabby one. 

— Billiards. 

TIP, a douceur ; also to give, lend, or hand over anything to 

another person " 

; come, tip up the tin," i.e., hand up the 

money ; 

" tip the wink," to inform by winking " ; tip us 

your fin," i.e., give me your hand; "tip one's boom off," to 

make off, depart. Sea. " To miss one's tip," to fail in a 

scheme. Old cant. 

TIP THE DOUBLE, to " bolt," or run away from a creditor or 

ofiBcer. Sometimes tip the double to sherry, i.e., to the 

sheriff. 

TIP- TOP, first-rate, of the best kind. 

TIPTOPPER, a "swell," or dressy man, a "Oorger" 

TIT, favourite name for a horse. 

TIT FOR TAT, an equivalent. 

TITIVATE, to put in order, or dross up. 

TITLEY, drink. 

TITTER, a girl. 

'TIZER, the Morning Advertiser. 

TIZZY, a sixpence. Corruption of tester. 

TOASTING FORK, derisive term for a sword. 

TOBY CONSARN, a highway expedition. 

TOBY, a road ; 

" high toby," the turnpike road. " High TOBT 

spice," robbery on horse-back. Don Juan, canto xi., 19. 

TODDLE, to walk as a child. 

TO-DO (pronounced quickly, and as one word), a disturbance, 

trouble ; 

" here's a pretty to-do," here is an unpleasant 

difficulty. This exactly tallies with the French word 

affaire (a faire).— See Forhy'a Vocabulary of East Anglia.


TOFFER, a well dressed, "gay " woman. 

TOFFICKY, dressy, showy. 

TOFT, a showy individual, a swell, a person who, according to 

a Yorkshireman's vocabulary, is up-ish. 

TOG, a coat. 

Latin, toga.— Ancient cant. 

TOG, to dress, or equip with an outfit ; 

" togged out to the 

nines," dressed in the first style. 

TOGS, clothes ; 

" Sunday togs," best clothes. One of the oldest 

cant words, in use in the time of Henry VIII. 

TOGERY, clothes, harness, domestic paraphernalia of any kind. 

TOKE, diy bread. 

TOL-LOL, or tol-lolish, tolerable, or tolerably. 

TOMMY.—&e dickey. 

TOMMY, bread, — generally a penny roll. 

TOMMY, a truck, barter, the exchange of labour for goods, not 

money. Both term and pi-actice general among English 

operatives for half-a century. 

TOMMY-MASTER, one who pays his workmen in goods, or 

gives them tickets upon tradesmen, with whom he shares 

the profit. 

TOMMY SHOP, where wages are generally paid to mechanics or 

others, who are expected to "takeout" a portion of tha 

money in goods. 

TOM-TOM, a street instrument, a email kind of drum beaten 

with the fingers, somewhat like the ancient tabor ; a performer 

on this instrument. It was imported, doubtless, 

with the Nigger melodies, tom-toms being a favourite instrument 

with the darkies. 

TONGUED, talkative " 

; to tongue a person," i.e., talk him 

down. 

TOOL, "a poor tool," a bad hand at anything. 

TOOL, to drive a mail coach. 

TOOL, to pick pockets. 

TOOLER, a pickpocket. Moll-tooler, a female pickpocket. 

TOOTH, " he has cut his eye tooth," i.e., he is sharp enough, or 

old enough, to be so ; "up in the tooth," far advanced in 

age,— said often of old maids. Stable term for aged horses 

which have lost the distinguishing mark in their teeth. 

TOPHEAVY, drunk. 

TOPPED, hung or executed.


TOP-SAWYER, the principal of a party, or profession. "A topsawyer, 

signifies a man that is a master genius in any profession. 

It is a piece of Norfolk slang, and took its rise from 

Norfolk being a great timber county, where the top sawyers 

get double the wages of those beneath them." Randall's 

Diary, 1820. 

TOPS, dying speeches and gallows broadsides. 

TOPSY-TURVY, the bottom upwards. Grose gives an ingenious 

etymology of this once cant term, viz., "top-side turf-ways," 

— turf being always laid the wi'ong side upwards. 

TO-RIGHTS, excellent, very well, or good. 

TORPIDS, the second-class race-boats at Oxford, answering to 

the Cambridge sloggers. 

TOSHERS, men who steal copper from ships' bottoms in the 

Thames. 

TOSS, a measure of sprats. 

TOUCHED, slightly intoxicated. 

TOUCHER, " as near as a toucher," as near as possible without 

actually touching. Coaching term. The old jarveys, to show 

their skill, used to drive against things so close as absolutely 

to touch, yet without injury. This they called a toucher, 

or, touch and go, which was hence applied to anything which 

was within an ace of ruin. 

TOUCHY, peevish, irritable. 

Johnson terms it a low word. 

TOUT, to look out, or watch.— Old cant. 

TOUTER, a looker out, one who watches for customers, a hotel 

runner. 

TOWEL, to beat or whip. In Warwiclcshire an oaken slick is 

termed a towel—whence, perhaps, the vulgar verb. 

TOWELLING, a rubbing down with an oaken towel, a beating. 

TRACKS, " to make tracks," to run away. See streak. 

TRANSLATOR, a man who deals in old shoes or clothes, and 

refits them for cheap wear. 

TRANSLATORS, second-hand boots mended and polished, and 

sold at a low price. Monmouth-street, Seven Dials, is a great 

market for translators. 

TRANSMOGRIPHY, to 

alter or change. 

TRAP, a " fast " term for a carriage of any kind. Traps, goods 

and chattels of any kind, but especially luggage and personal 

effects ; in Australia, swag. 

TRA.P, " up to TRAP," knowing, wide awake,—synonymous with 

" up to SNUFJF." 

iriik


TRAP, a sheriflPs officer. 

TRAPESING, gadding or gossiping about in a slatternly way. 

— North. 

TRAVELLER, name given by one tramp to another. "A 

TRAVELLER at her Majesty's expense," i.e., a transported 

felon, a convict. 

TREE, " up a tree," in temporary difficulties,—out of the 

way. American expression, derived from raccoon or bearhunting. 

When Bruin is treed, or is forced up a tree 

by the dogs, it means that then the tug of war begins. See 

'coon. Hence when an opponent is fairly run to bay, and 

can by no evasion get off, he is said to be treed. These 

expressions originated with Colonel Crockett. In Scotland 

the phrase is " up a close," i.e., a passage, out of the usual 

track, or removed from obsei-vation. 

TRINE, to hdkng.—Ancient cant. 

TROLLING, sauntering or idling. 

TROLLY, or trollt-carts, term given by costermongers to a 

species of narrow cart, which can either be drawn by a 

donkey, or driven by hand. 

TROTTER, a tailor's man who goes round for orders. University. 

TROTTER CASES, shoes. 

TROTTERS, feet. Sheep's trotters, boiled sheep's feet, a 

favourite street delicacy. 

TRUCK, to exchange or barter. 

TRUCK-GUTTED, pot-bellied, corpulent.—&a. 

TRUCKS, trowsers. 

TRUMP, a good fellow " 

; a regular trump," a jolly or good 

natured person,—in allusion to a trump card; "trumps 

may turn up," i.e., fortune may yet favour me. 

TUB THUMPING, preaching or speech making. 

TUCK, a schoolboy's term for fruit, pastry, &c. Tuck in, or 

tuck out, a good meal. 

TUFTS, fellow commoners, i.e., wealthy students at the University, 

who pay higher fees, dine with the Dons, and are 

distinguished by golden tufts, or tassels, in their caps. 

TUFT-HUNTER, a hanger on to 

persons of quality or wealth. 

Originally University slang, but now general. 

TUMBLE, to comprehend or understand. A coster was asked 

what he thought of Macbeth,— " the witches and the fighting 

was all very well, but the other moves I couldn't tumble to


exRCtly; few on us can tumble to the jaw-breakers; they 

licks us, they do." 

TURF, horse racing, and betting thereon ; 

" on the turf," one 

who occupies himself with race course business; said also 

of a street-walker, nymph of the pav^. 

TURKEY- MERCHANTS, dealers in plundered or contraband 

silk. 

Poulterers are sometimes termed turkey merchants, 

ill remembrance of Home Tooke's answer to the boys at 

Eton, who wished in an aristocratic way to know who his 

father was,—a turkey merchant, replied Tooke;—his father 

was a poulterer. Turkey merchant, also, was formerly 

slang for a driver of turkeys or geese to market. 

TURNED OVER, to be stopped and searched by the police. 

TURNED UP, acquitted by the magistrate or judge for want of 

eviiience. 

TURNER OUT, a coiner of bad money. 

TURN OUT, personal show or appearance; 

a man with a showy 

carriage and horses is said to have a good turn out. 

TURNOVER, an apprentice who finishes with a second master 

the iudeatures he commenced with the first. 

TURM PIKE SAILORS, beggars who go about dressed as sailors. 

TURN UP, a street fight ; a sudden leaving, or making off. 

TURN UP, to quit, change, abscond, or abandon " 

; Ned has 

TURNED UP," i.e. run away ; "I intend turning it up," i.e. 

leaving my present abode or altering my course of life. 

Also to happen; let's wait, and see what will turn up. 

TUSHEROON, a crown piece, five shillings. 

TUSSLE, a pull, struggle, fight, or argument. Johnson and 

Webster call it a vulgar word. 

TUSSLE, to struggle, or argue. 

TWELVER, a shilling. 

TWIG, style, d-lamode; " get your strummel faked in TVVIQ," i.e., 

have your hair dressed in style ; prime twig, in good order, 

and high spirits. Pugilistic. 

TWIG, " to hop the twig," to decamp, "cut one's stick," to die. 

TWIG, to understand, detect, or observe. 

TWIST, brandy and gin mixed. 

T WIST, appetite ; " Will 'a got a capital Twxsr," 

TWI rCHETTY, nervous, fidgetty. 

TWITTER, " all in a twitter," in a fright, or fidgetty state. 

B 4


TWO-HANDED, awkward. 

TWOPENNY, the head; '• 

tuck in your twopenny." bend down 

your head. 

TWOPENNY-HOPS, low dancing rooms, the price of admission 

to which was formerly—and not infrequently now— two 

pence. The clog hornpipe the pipe dance, fla-sh jigs, and 

hornpipes in fetters, a la Jack Sheppard. are the favourite 

movements, all entered into with great spirit and "joyous, 

laborious capering." Maykew. 

TYBUKN COLLAR, the fringe of beard worn under the chin.— 

See NEWGATE COLLAB. 

TYE, or TIB, a neckerchief. Proper hosier's term now, but slang 

thirty years ago, and as early as 1718. Called also, squeeze. 

UNBETTY, to unlock.— ^Tee betty. 

UNCLE, the pawnbroker. 

See my UNCLE. 

USDER THE ROSE.—^'ee boss. 

UNICORN, a style of driving with two wheelers abreast, and 

one leader,—termed in the United States, a spike team. 

Tandem is one wheeler and one leader. Random, three 

horses in line. 

UNUTTERABLES, trousers —See inexpbessibles. 

UNWHISPERABLES, trousers. 

UP, " to be UP to a thing or two," to be knowing, or understanding 

; 

" to put a man up to a move," to teach him a 

trick; "it's all up with him," i.e., it is all over vrith him, 

often pronounced U.P., naming the two letters separately; 

" UP a tree," see tbee; "up to tbap," "up to snuff," 

wide awake acquainted with the last new move " 

; up to 

one's GOSSIP," to be a match for one who is trying to take 

you in; 'up to slum " proficient in roguery, capable of 

committing a theft successfully. 

UPPER BENJAMIN, a great coat. 

UPPER STOREY, or uppeb loft, a person's head ; 

" his upper 

stobey is unfurnished," i.e., he does not know very much. 

UPPISH, proud, arrogant. 

USED UP, broken-hearted, bankrupt, fatigued. 

VAMOS, or VAMOUS, to go. or be off. Spanish, vamos, " let us 

go !" Probably namus or namous the costermonger a 

word, was from this, although it is generally considered back 

VAMPS, old stockings. 

From vamp, to piece.

MODEBN SLANG AND CANT WORDS. 

^43 

VARDO, to look; " vardo the cassey," look at the house. 

Vabdo formerly was old cant for a wagon. 

VARMENT, " you young vabment, you !" you bad, or naughty 

boy. Corruption of vermin. 

VELVET, the tongue. 

VERTICAL-CARE-GRINDER, the treadmill. 

VIC, the Victoria Theatre, London, — patronised principally by 

costermongers and low people ; also the street abbreviation 

of the Christian name of her Majesty the Queen. 

VILLAGE, or the village, i.e., London. Sporting. 

VILLE, or VILE, a town or village.— pronounced phial, or vial.— 

French. 

VINNIED, mildewed, or sour. Devonshire. 

VOKER, to talk; "can you vokeb Romany ?" can you speak 

the canting language. Latin, vocare ; Spanish, vocear. 

WABBLE, to move from side to side, to roll about. Johnson 

terms it a " low, barbarous word." 

WALKER ! or hookey walker ! an ejaculation of incredulity, 

said when a person is telling a story which you know to be 

all gammon, or false. 

The Saturday Reviewer's explanation 

of the phrase is this " Years ago, there was a person 

named Walker, an aquiline-nosed Jew, who exhibited an 

orrery, which he called by the erudite name of Eidouranion. 

He was also a popular lecturer on astronomy, and 

often invited his pupils, telescope in hand, to take a sight 

at the moon and stars. The lecturer's phrase struck his 

school-boy auditory, who frequently "took a sight" with 

that gesture of outstretched arm. and adjustment to nose 

and eye, which was the first garnish of the popular saying. 

The next step was to assume phrase and gesture as the outward 

and visible mode of knowingness in general." A correspondent, 

however, denies this, and states that hooket 

WALKER was a magistrate of dreaded acuteness and incredulity, 

whose hooked nose gave the title of beak to all his 

successors; and, moreover, that the gesture of applying the 

thumb to the nose and agitating the little finger, as an expression 

of "Don't you wish you may get it ?" is considerably 

older than the story in the Saturday Review would 

seem to indicate. There is a third explanation of hooket 

WALKER in Notes and Queries, iv., 425. 

WALK INTO, to overcome, to demolish; "111 walk into his 

affections " ie., I will scold or thrash him. The word 

K 2

244 A MCTIONARY OP 

DEivE (which see) is used in an equally curious sense in 

slang speech. 

WALK OVER, a re-election without opposition. Parliamentary, 

bub derived from the Turf, where a horse—which has no 

rivals entered walks over the course, and wins without 

exertion. 

WALK- THE BARBER to lead a girl astray. 

WALK YOUR CHALKS, be off, or run away,—spoken sharply 

by any one who wishes to get rid of you. 

See chalks. 

WALL FLOWER a person who goes to a ball, and looks on 

without dancing, either from choice or not being able to 

obtain a partner. 

WALL-FLOWERS, left-offand "regenerated" clothes, exposed 

for sale in Monmouth-stieet. 

WALLOP, to beat, or thrash. Mr. John Gough Nichols derives 

this word from an ancestor of the Earl of Portsmouth one 

Sir John Wallop, Knight of the Garter, who, in King 

Henry VIII.'s time, distinguished himself by walloping 

the French ; but it is more probably connected with weal, 

a livid swelling in the skin, after a blow. See pot walloper. 

WALLOPING, a beating or thrashing; sometimes in an adjective 

sense, as big, or very large. 

WAPPING, or WHOPPING, of a large size, great. 

WARM, rich, or well off. 

WARM, to thrash, or beat " 

; I'll warm your jacket." 

WASH, "it won't wash," i.e., will not stand investigation, is 

not genuine, can't be believed. 

WATCHMAKER, a pickpocket, or stealer of watches. 

WATCH AND SEALS, a sheep's head and pluck. 

WATER-BEWITCHED, very weak tea, the third brew (or the 

first at some houses), grog much diluted. 

WATER OF LIFE, gin. 

WATERMAN, a light blue silk handkerchief. The Oxford and 

Cambridge boats' crews always wear these—light blue for 

Cambridge, and a darker shade for Oxford. 

WATTLES, ears. 

WAXY, cross, ill-tempered. 

WEDGE, silver.—OW cant. 

WEDGE-FEEDER, silver spoon. 

WEED, a cigar; the WEED, tobacco generally.


WELL, to pocket, or place as in a well. 

WENCH, provincial and old-fashioned term for a girl, derived 

from WINK. In America, negro girls only are termed 

WENCHES. 

WEST CENTRAL, a water-closet, tbe initials being the same 

as those of the London Postal District. It is swid that foithis 

reason very delicate people refuse to obey Rowland 

Hill's instructions in this particular, 

WET, a drink, a " drain." 

WET, to drink. Low people generally ask an acquaintance to 

WET any recently purchased article, i.e., to stand treat on 

the occasion ; 

" wet your whistle," i.e., take a drink ; 

" wet 

the other eye," i.e., take another glass. 

WET QUAKER, a drunkard of that sect; a man who pretends 

to be religious, and is a dram drinker on the sly, 

WHACK, a share or lot; "give me my whack," give me my 

share. 

Scotch, sweg, or swack. 

whack, or whacking, a blow or thrashing. 

WHACK, to beat ; 

WHACKING, large, fine, or strong. 

WHALE, " very like a whale in a teacup," said of anything 

that is very improbable ; taken from a speech of Polonius 

in Hamlel. 

WHEEDLE, to entice by soft words. " This word cannot be 

found to derive itself from any other, and therefore is 

looked upon as wholly invented by the canters."— Triumph 

of Wit, 1705. 

WHERRET, or worbit, to scold, trouble, or annoy. Old English. 

WHIDDLE, to enter into a parley, or hesitate with many 

words, &c. ; to inform, or discover. 

WHIDS, words. 

Old Gipsey cant. 

WHIM-WAM, an alliterative term, synonymous with fiddlefaddle, 

riff-raff, &c., denoting nonsense, rubbish, &c. 

WHIP, to "whip anything up," to take it up quickly; from 

the method of hoisting heavy goods or horses on board 

ship by a whip, or running tackle, from the yard-arm. 

Generally used to express anything dishonestly taken — 

L'Estrange and Johnson. 

WHIP JACK, a sham shipwrecked sailor, called also a turnpike 

SAILOR. 

WHIPPER-SNAPPER, a waspish, diminutive person. 

WHIPPING THE CAT, when an operative works at a private 

Term used amongst tailors and carpenters. 

house by the day.


WHISKER. There is a curious slang plirase connected with 

this word. When an improbable story is told, the remark 

is, " the mother of that was a whisker," meaning it is a lie. 

WHISTLE, "as clean as a whistle," neatly, or "slickly done," 

as an American would say; "to wet one's whistle," to 

take a drink. This is a very old tei-m. Chaucer says of 

the Miller of Trumpington's wife {Canterbury Tales, 4153)— 

" So was hir jolj whisial well t-wkt ;" 

"to whistle for anything," to stand small chance of 

getting it, from the nautical custom of whistling for a wind 

in a calm, which of course comes none the sooner for it. 

WHITE FEATHER, " to 

show the white feather," to evince 

cowardice. In the times when great attention was paid to 

the breeding of game-cocks, a white feather in the tail was 

considered a proof of cross-breeding. 

WHITE LIE, a harmless lie, one told to reconcile people at 

variance; "mistress is not at home, sir," is a white lib 

often told by servants. 

WHITE LIVER'D, or liver faced, cowardly, much afraid, 

very mean. 

WHITE PROP, a diamond pin. 

WHITE SATIN, gin,—term amongst women. 

WHITE TAPE, gin,—term used principally by female servants. 

WHITE WINE, the fashionable term for gin. 

" Jack Randall then impatient rose, 

And said, 'Tom's speech were jast as fine 

If he would call that first of go's 

By that genteeler name whitb wike.' " 

RaiuJUiWt Diary, 1820. 

WHITECHAPEL, or westmissteb brougham, a costermonger's 

donkey-barrow. 

WHITECHAPEL, the " upper-cut," or strike.—Pugilistic. 

WHITEWASH, when a person has taken the benefit of the 

Insolvent Act he is said to have been whitewashed. 

WHOP, to beat, or hide. Corruption of whip; sometimes 

spelled WAP. 

WHOP-STRAW, cant name for a countryman ; Johnny Whop- 

STRAW, in allusion to threshing. 

WHOPPER, a big one, a lie. 

WIDDLE, to shine —&e Oliver. 

WIDE-AWAKE, a broad-brimmed felt, or stuff hat,—so called 

because it never had a nap, and never wants one.


VVlDO, wide awake, no fool. 

WIFE, a fetter fixed to one leg. 

Prison. 

WIFFLE -WOFFLES, in the dumps, sorrow, stomach ache. 

WIGGINS, a rebuke hefore comrades. If the head of a firm 

calls a clerk into the parlour, and rebukes him, it is an 

earwigging ; if done before the other clerks, it is a wigging. 

WILD, a village. Tramjps' term.— See vile. 

WILD, vexed, cross, passionate. In the United States the 

word mad is supplemented with a vulgar meaning similar to 

our Cockneyism, wild; and to make a man mad on the 

other side of the Atlantic is to vex him, or "rile" his temper 

—not to render him a raving maniac, or a fit subject for 

Bedlam. 

WILD OATS, youthful pranks. 

WIND, " to raise the wind," to procure money ; 

" to slip one's 

WIND," coarse expression meaning to die. 

WIND, " I'll WIND your cotton," i.e., I will give you some trouble. 

The Byzantine General, Narses, used the same kind of threat 

to the Greek Empress,— " I will spin such a thread that 

they shall not be able to unravel." 

WINDED-SETTLED, transported for life. 

WINDOWS, the eyes, or "peepers." 

WINEY, intoxicated. 

WINKIN, "he went oflf like WINKIN," i.e., very quickly. 

WINKS, periwinkles. 

WINN, a penny. Ancient cant. 

WIPE, a pocket handkerchief.— OW cant. 

WIPE, a blow. 

WIPE, to strike ; 

" he fetcht me a wipe over the knuckles," he 

struck me on the knuckles; "to wipe a person down," to 

flatter or pacify a person ; to wipe off a score, to pay one's 

debts, in allusion to the slate or chalk methods of account 

keeping " 

; to wipe a person's eye," to shoot game which he 

has missed Sporting term; hence to obtain an advantage 

by superior activity. 

WIRE, a thief with long fingers, expert at picking ladies' pockets. 

WOBBLESHOP, where beer is sold without a license. 

WOODEN SPOON, the last junior optime who takes a University 

degree ; denoting one who is only fit to stay at home, and 

stir porridge. Cambridge. 

WOODEN WEDGE, the last name in the classical honours liat


at Cambridge. The last in mathematical hdncurs had long 

been kDown as the wooden spoon; but when the classical 

Tripos was instituted, in 1824, it was debated among the 

undergraduates what sobriquet should be given to the last 

on the examination list. Curiously enough, the name that 

year which happened to be last was wedgewood (a distinguished 

Wrangler). Hence the title. 

WOOL, courage, pluck ; 

" you are not half-woOLLED," term of 

reproach from one thief to another. 

WOOLBIRD, a lamb ; " wing of a woolbibd," a shoulder of 

lamb. 

WOOL-GATHERING, said of any person's wits when they are 

wandering, or in a reverie. Florio. 

WOOL-HOLE, the workhouse. 

WORK, to plan, or lay down and execute any course of action, 

to perform anything; "to work the bulls," i.e., to get rid 

of false crown pieces ; 

" to work the oracle," to succeed 

by manceuviiug, to concert a wily plan, to victimise,— 

possible reference to the stratagems and bribes used to 

corrupt the Delphic oracle, and cause it to deliver a favourable 

response. "To work a street or neighbourhood," 

trying at each house to sell all one can, or so bawling that 

every housewife may know what you have to sell. The 

general plan is to drive a donkey barrow a short distance, 

and then stop and cry. The term implies thoroughness ; to 

" work a street well" is a common saying with a coster. 

WORM, see pump. 

WORMING, removing the beard of an oyster or muscle. 

W. P., or WARMING PAN. A clergyman who holds a living pro 

tempore, under a bond of resignation, is styled a w. p., or 

WARMING PAN rector, because he keeps the place warm for 

his successor. Clerical slang. 

WRINKLE, an idea, or fancy ; an additional piece of knowledge 

which is supposed to be made by a wrinkle d posteriori. 

WRITE, " to WRITE one's name on a joint," to have the first 

cut at anything,—leaving sensible traces of one's presence 

on it. 

YACK, a watch; to "church a tack," to take it out of its case 

to avoid detection. 

YARD OF CLAY, a long, old-fashioned tobacco pipe, also called 

a churchwarden. 

YARMOUTH CAPON, a bloater, or red herring.—OW —iZay's 

Proverbs.


YARN", a long story, or tale ; " a tough yarn," a tale hard to 

be believed ; " spiu a yarn," tell a tale. Sea. 

YAY-NAY, "a poor yay-nay" fellow, one who has no conversational 

power, and can only answer ye(i or nay to a question. 

YELLOW BELLY, a native of the Fens of Lincolnshire, or the 

Isle of Ely,—in allusion to the frogs and a yellow-bellied eel 

caught there ; they are also said to be web-footed. 

YELLOW-BOY, a sovereign, or any gold coin. 

YELLOW-GLOAK, a jealous man. 

YELLOW-JACK, the yellow fever prevalent in the West Indies. 

YELLOW-MAN, a yellow silk handkerchief. 

YOKEL, a countryman. — West. 

YOKUFF, a chest, or large box. 

YORKSHIRE, " to Yorkshire," or " come Yorkshire over any 

person," is to cheat or bite them. North. 

, 

YORKSHIRE ESTATES, " I will do it when I come into my 

YORKSHIRE ESTATES,"—meaning if I ever have the money 

or the means. The phrase is said to have origiuated with 

Dr. Johnson. 

Term in general 

YOUNKER, in street language, a lad or a boy. 

use amongst costermougers, cabmen, and old-fashioned 

people. Barnejield's Affectionate Shepherd, 1594, has the 

phrase, "a seemelie younker." Banish and Friesic, jonker. 

In the Navy, a naval cadet is usually termed a younker. 

YOUR- NIBS, yourself. 

ZIPH, LANGUAGE OF, a Way of disguising English in use among 

the students at Winchester College. Compare medical 

GREEK. 

ZOUNDS, a sudden exclamation,—abbreviation of Ood^s wounds.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 

BACK SLANG, 

THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF COSTERMONGERS. 

The costermongers of London number between 

thirty and forty thousand. 

Like other low tribes, 

they boast a language, or secret tongue, in which 

they hide their earnings, movements, and other 

private affairs. This costers' speech, as Mayhew 

remarks, offers no new fact, or approach to a fact, 

for philologists; 

it is not very remarkable for originality 

of construction ; 

neither is it spiced with low 

humour, as other cant. But the costermongers 

boast that it is known only to themselves; that it 

is far beyond the Irish, and puzzles the Jews. 

The main principle of this language is spelling 

the words backwards,— or rather^ pronouncing them 

rudely backwards. Sometimes, for the sake of harmony, 

an extra syllable is prefixed, or annexed; 

and, occasionally, the word is given quite a diffq-

252 THE PrUNClPLE OF THE BACK SLANG. 

rent turn in rendering it backwards, from what an 

uninitiated person would have expected. One coster 

told Mayhew that he often gave the end of a word 

'* 

a new turn, just as if he chorussed it with a tolde-rol." 

Besides, the coster has his own idea of the 

proper way of spelling words, and is not to be convinced 

but by an overwhelming show of learning, 

—and frequently not then, for he is a very headstrong 

fellow. By the time a coster has spelt an 

ordinary word of two or three syllables in the proper 

way, and then spelt it backwards, it has become a 

tangled knot that no etymologist could unravel. 

The word generalise, for instance, is considered 

to be " shilling" spelt backwards. 

Sometimes Slang 

and Cant words are introduced, and even these, 

when imagined to be tolerably well known, are pronounced 

backwards. 

Other terms, such as GEN, a 

shilling, and FLATCH, a halfpenny, help to confuse 

the outsider. 

After a time, this back language, ovt BACK- 

SLANG, as it is called by the costermongers themselves, 

comes to be regarded by the rising generation 

of street sellers as a distinct and regular mode 

of speech. They never refer words, by inverting 

them, to their originals; and the TENEPS and ES- 

CLOPS, and NAMOWS, are 

looked upon as proper, 

but secret terms. " But it is a curious fact, that 

lads who become costermongers' boys, without previous 

association with the class, acquire a very ready

BOYS AND GIRLS SOON ACQUIRE IT. 253 

command of the language, and this though they 

are not only unable to spell, but ' don't know a 

letter in a book,*' " They soon obtain a considerable 

stock vocabulary, so that they converse rather 

from the memory than the understanding. Amongst 

the senior costermongers, and those who pride 

themselves on their 

proficiency in back-slang, a 

conversation is often sustained for a whole evening, 

especially if any " flatties" are present whom they 

wish to astonish or confuse. The women use it 

sparingly, but the girls are generally well acquainted 

with it. 

The addition of an s, I should state, always 

forms the plural, so that this is another source of 

complication. For instance, woman in the back- 

SLANG, is NAMOW, and NAMUS, Or NAMOWS, is 

women, not NEMOW. The explorer, then, in undoing 

the BACK-SLANG, and turning the word namus 

once more into English, would have suman,— 

novel am^ very extraordinary rendering of women. 

Where a word is refractory in submitting to a back 

rendering, as in the case of pound, letters are made 

to change positions for the sake of harmony; 

thus, we have dunop, a pound, instead of dmiop 

which nobody could pleasantly pronounce. This 

will remind the reader of the Jews' ''old do! old 

do r instead of old dothes, old dollies, which would 

tire even the patience of a Jew to repeat all day. 

* Maykew, vol. i., p. 24.

254: THE BACK SLANG UNKNOWN TO THE POLICE. 

This sincrular BACK tono-ue has been in vojnie 

about twenty-five years. It is, as before stated, 

soon acquired, and is principally used by the costermongers 

(as the specimen Glossary will show), 

for 

communicating the secrets of their street tradings, 

the cost and profit of the goods, and for keeping 

their natural enemies, the police, in the dark. CoOL 

THE ESCLOP (look at the police) is often said 

amongst them, when one of the constabidary makes 

his appearance. 

Perhaps on no subject is the costermonger so particular 

as on money matters. All costs and profits 

he thinks should be kept profoundly secret. The 

Back Slang, therefore, gives the various small 

amounts very minutely. 

FLATCH, halfpenny. 

YENEP, penny. 

OWT-YENEPS, twopence. 

ERTH-YENEPS, threepence. 

* 

ROUF-YENEPS, fourpence. 

EVIF, or EWIF-YEXEPS, fivepence. 

EXIS-YENEPS, sixpence. 

NEVIS-YENEPS, sevenpence. 

TEAICH, or THEG-YENEPS, eightpence. 

ENIN-YENEPS, ninepence. 

NET-YENEPS. tenpence. 

NEVELE-YENEPS, elevenpence. 

EVLENET-YENNEPS, twelvepence. 

GEN, or GENERALIZE, one shilling, or twelvepence. 

YENEP-FLATCH, three halfpence.

THE COSTERMONGERS' TERMS FOR MONEY. 255 

OWT-YENEP-FLATCH, twopence halfpenny. 

&c. &c. &c. 

GEN, or ENO-GEN, one shilling. 

OWT-GENS, two shillings. 

ERTH-GENS, three shillings. 

The GENS continue in the same sequence as the 

TENEPS above, excepting theg-gens, 8s., which is 

usually rendered theg-guy,— a deviation with 

ample precedents in all civihsed tongues. 

YENORK, a crown piece, or five shillings. 

FLATCH-YENORK, half a-crown. 

Beyond this amount the costermonger reckons 

after an intricate and complicated mode. Fifteen 

shillings would be erth-evif-gens, or, literally, 

three times 5s. ; seventeen shillings would be erthyenork-flatch, 

or three crowns and a half; or, 

by another mode of reckoning, erth-evif-gens 

FLATCH-YENORK, i.e., three times 5s., and halfa-crowi^ 

DUNOP, a pound. 

Further than which the costermonger seldom goes 

in money reckoning. 

In the following Glossary only those words are 

given which costermongers principally use,—the 

terms connected with street traffic, the names of the 

different coins, vegetables, fruit and fish, technicalities 

of police courts, &c.

256 WHY A GLOSSARY IS FORMED. 

The reader might naturally think that a system 

of speech so simple as the back-SLANG would require 

no Glossary; but he will quickly perceive, 

from the specimens given, that a great many words 

in frequent use in a back sense, have become so 

twisted as to require a little glossarial explanation.

GLOSSARY 

BACK SLANG. 

BIRK, a "crib,"—house. 

COOL, to look. 

COOL HIM, look at him. A phrase frequently used when one 

costermoDger warns another of the approach of a policeman. 

DAB, bad. 

DABHENO, one bad, or a bad market. See doogheno. 

DAB TROS, a bad sort. 

DA-ERB, bread. 

DEB, or DAB, a bed ; 

" I'm on to the deb," I'm going to bed. 

DILLO-NAMO, an old woman. 

DLOG, gold. 

DOOG, good. 

DOOGHENO, literally "one-good," or "good-one," but implying 

generally a good market. 

DOOGHENO HIT, one good hit. A coster remarks to a 

"mate," Jack made a doogheno hit this morning," implying 

that he did well at market, or sold out with good profit. 

DUNOP, a pound. 

ERTH, three. 

EARTH* GENS, three shillings. 

EARTH SITH-NOMS, three months. 

EARTH YANNOPS, or teneps, threepence. 

EDGABAC, cabbage. 

* My informant preferred eabih to ebih,— for the reason, he said, " that 

it looked more sensible 1" 

S

258 GLOSSARY OF 

EDGENARO, an oraDge. 

E-FINK, knife. 

EKAME, a "make," or swindle. 

EKOM, a "moke," or donkey. 

ELRIG, a girl. 

ENIF, fine. 

ENIN GENS, nine shillings. 

ENIN YENEP, ninepenee. 

ENIN YANNOPS, or yeneps, ninepenee. 

ENO, one. 

ERIE, fire. 

ERTH GENS, three shillings. 

ERTH-PU, three-up, a street game. 

ERTH SITH-NOMS, three months,—a term of imprisonment 

unfortunately very familiar to the lower orders. 

ERTH-YENEPS, threepence. 

ESCLOP, the police. 

ES-ROPH, or es-boch, a horse. 

EVIF- YENEPS, five pence. 

EVLENET-GENS, twelve shillings. 

EVLENET SITH-NOMS, twelve months. 

EWIF-GENS, a crown, or five shillings. 

EWIF-YENEPS, fivepence. 

EXIS GENS, six shillings. 

EXIS-EWIF-GENS, six times five shillings, i.e., SOe. All moneys 

may be reckoned in this manner, either with yembps or 

GENS. 

EXIS-EVIF YENEPS, elevenpence,—literally, "sixpence and 

fivepence = elevenpence." This mode of reckoning, distinct 

from the preceding, is also common amongst those who use 

the back slang. 

EXIS SITH-NOMS, six months. 

EXIS-YENEPS, sixpence. 

FI-HEATH, a thief. 

FLATCH, a half, or halfpenny, 

FLATCH KEN-NURD, half drunk. 

FLATCH YENEP, a halfpenny. 

FLATCH-YENORK, half a-crowu.

THE BACK SLANG. 259 

GEN, twelvepence, or one shilling. Possibly an abbreviation of 

ARGENT, cant term for silver.—See following. 

GENERALIZE, a shilling, generally shortened to gew. 

GEN-NET, or net gens, ten shillings. 

•HEL-BAT, a table. 

HELPA, an apple. 

KENNETSEENO, stmking. 

KENNURD, drunk. 

KEW, a week. 

KEWS, or SKEW, weeks. 

KIRB, a brick. 

KOOL, to look. 

LAWT, tall. 

LEVEN, in back slang, is sometimes allowed to stand for eleven 

for the reason that it is a number which seldom occurs. An 

article is either lOd. or Is. 

LUR-AC-HAM. mackarel. 

MOTTAB, bottom. 

MUR, rum. 

NALE, or nael, lean. 

NAM, a man. 

NAMESCLOP, a policeman. 

NAMOW, a woman ; dillo namow, an old woman. 

NEERGS, greens. 

NETENIN GENS, nineteen shillings. 

NEETEWIF GENS, fifteen shilUngs. 

NEETEXIS, or netexis gens, sixteen shillings. 

NETNEVIS GENS, seventeen shillings. 

NET-THE6 GENS, eighteen shillings. 

NEETRITH GENS, thirteen shillings. 

NEETROUF GENS, fourteen shillings. 

NET-GEN, ten shillings, or half a sovereign. 

NET-YENEPS, tenpence. 

NEVELE GENS, eleven shUlings. 

NEVELE YENEPS, elevenpence,—generally lbvbn YMJEre. 

NEVIS GENS, seven shillings. 

NEVIS STRETCH, seven years' transportation, or imprisonment. 

See STRETCH, in the Slang Dictionary. 

s 2


NEVIS YENEPS, Bevenpenee. 

NIRE, rain. 

NIG, gin. 

NI-OG OT TAKRAM, going to market. 

NITRAPH, a farthing. 

NOL, long. 

NOOM, the moon, 

NOS-RAP, a parson. 

OCCABOT, tobacco ; 

" tib of occabot," bit of tobacco. 

ON, no. 

ON DOOG, no good. 

OWT GENS, two shillings. 

OWT YENEPS, twopence. 

PAC, a cap. 

PINURT POTS, tumip tops. 

POT, top, 

RAPE, a pear. 

REEB, beer. 

REV-LIS, sUver. 

ROUF-EFIL, for life,—sentence of punishment. 

ROUF-GENS, four shillings. 

ROUP-YENEPS, fourpence. 

RUTAT, or rattat, a " tatur," or potato. 

SAY, yes, 

SEE 0, shoes, 

SELOPAS, apples, 

SHIP, fish. 

SIR-ETCH, cherries. 

SITH-NOM, a month. 

SLAOC, coals. 

SLOP, a policeman.— (Sec Dictionary of Slcmg and Cant Wordg. 

SNEERG, greens. 

SOUSH, a house. 

SPINSRAP, parsnips. 

SRES WORT, trowsers. 

STARPS, sprats. 

STOOB, boots.

THE BACK SLANG. 261 

STORRAC, carrots. 

STUN, nuts. 

STUNLAWS, walnuts. 

SWRET-SIO, oysters. 

TACH, a hat. 

TAF, or TAPFT, fat. 

THEG, or teaich gens, eight shillings. 

TEAICH-QUY, eight shillings,—a slight deviation from the 

numerical arrangement of gens. 

TENIP, a pint. 

THEG TENEPS, eightpence. 

TIB, a bit, or piece. 

TOAC, or TOG, a coat. 

Too is the old cant term.—See Dictionary 

of Slang, dec. 

TOAC-TISAW, a waistcoat. 

TOL, lot, stock, or share. 

TOP 0' REEB, a pot of beer, 

TOP-YOB, a pot boy. 

TORRAC, a carrot. 

TRACK (or tbag), a quart. 

TROSSENO, literally, "one- sort," but the costermongers use it 

to imply anything that is bad. 

WAR-RAB, a barrow. 

WEDGE, a Jew. 

YAD, a day ; tads, days. 

YADNAB, brandy. 

YENEP, a penny, 

YENEP-A-TIME, penny each time,—term in betting. 

YENEP-FLATCH, three halfpence,—all the halfpence and 

pennies continue in the same sequence. 

YAP-POO, pay up. 

YEKNOD, or jerk-nod, a donkey. 

YENORK, a crown. 

YOB, a boy, 

ZEB, best.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 

RHYMING SLANG. 

THE SECRET LA.NGUAGE OF 

CHAUNTERS AND PATTERERS. 

There exists in London a singular tribe of men, 

known amongst the "fraternity of vagabonds" as 

Qiaunters and Patterers. Both classes are great 

talkers. The first sing or chaunt through the public 

thoroughfares ballads— 

— 

political and humorous 

carols, dying speeches, and the various other kinds 

of gallows and street literature. The second deliver 

street orations on grease-removing compounds, 

plating powders, high polishing blacking, and the 

thousand and one wonderful pennyworths that are 

to gaping mobs from a London kerb stone. 

retailed 

They are quite a distinct tribe from the costermongers; 

indeed, amongst tramps, they term themselves 

the " harristocrats of the streets," and boast 

that they live by their intellects. 

Like the coster-

264 THE OKIGIN OF THE RHYMING SLANG. 

mongers, however, they have a secret tongue or 

Cant speech, known only to each other. 

which has nothing to do with that 

This Cant, 

spoken by the 

costermongers, is known in Seven Dials and elsewhere 

as the EHYMING SLANG, or tlie 

substitution 

of words and sentences which rhyme with other 

words intended to be kept secret. The chaunter's 

Cant, therefore, partakes of his calling, and he 

transforms and uses up into a rough speech the 

various odds and ends of old songs, ballads, and 

street nick-names, which are found suitable to his 

purpose. Unlike nearly all other systems of Cant, 

the rhyming Slang is 

not founded upon allegory; 

unless we except a few rude similes, thus i'm 

AFLOAT is the rhyming Cant for boat^ SORROWFUL 

TALE is equivalent to three months in jail, artful 

DODGER signifies a lodger, and a snake in the 

GRASS stands for a looking-glass—a meaning that 

would delight a fat Chinaman, or a collector of 

Oriental proverbs. But, as in the case of the 

costers' speech and the 

old gipsey-vagabond Cant, 

the chaunters and patterers so interlard this rhyming 

Slang with their general remarks, while their ordinary 

language is so smothered and subdued, that, 

unless when they are professionally engaged and 

talking of their wares, they might almost pass 

for 

foreigners. 

From the inquiries I have made of various 

patterers and "paper workers," I learn that the

SPOKEIT PRINCIPALLY BY VAGABOND POETS. 265 

rhyming Slang was introduced about twelve or 

fifteen years ago. Numbering this class of oratorical 

and bawhng wanderers at twenty thousand, 

scattered over Great Britain, including London 

and the large provincial towns, we thus see the 

number of English vagabonds who converse in 

rhyme and talk poetry, although their habitations 

and mode of life constitute a very unpleasant 

Arcadia. These nomadic poets, like the other 

talkers of Cant or secret languages, are stamped 

with the vagabond's mark, and are continually on 

the move. The married men mostly have lodgings 

in London, and come and go as occasion may 

require. A few never quit London streets, but the 

greater number tramp to all the large provincial 

fairs, and prefer the monkery (country) to 

town 

life. Some transact their business in a systematic 

way, sending a post-office order to the Seven Dials 

printer, for a fresh supply of ballads or penny 

books, or to the swag shop, as the case may be, 

for trinkets and gewgaws, to be sent on by rail 

a given town by the time they shaU arrive there. 

When any dreadful murder, colliery explosion, 

or frightful railway accident has happened in a 

country district, three or four chaunters are generally 

on the spot in a day or two after 

to 

the occurrence, 

vending and bawhng "^ I'rue and Faithful 

Account,^* &c., which " true and faithful account" 

was concocted purely in the imaginations of the

266 PATTEEERS AND CHEAP JACKS. 

successors of Catnach 

and Tommy Pitts,* behind 

the counters of their printing shops in Seven Diak. 

And but few fairs are held in any part of England 

without the patterer being punctually at his post, 

with his nostrums, or real gold rings (with the story 

of the wager laid by the gentleman—see fawney 

BOUNCING, in the Dictionary), or save-alls for 

candlesticks, or paste which, when applied to the 

strop, makes the dullest razor keen enough to hack 

broom handles and sticks, and after that to have 

quite enough sharpness left for splitting hairs, or 

shaving them off the back of one of the clodhoppers' 

hands, looking on in amazement. And 

CHEAP JOHN, too, with his coarse jokes, and no 

end of six-bladed knives, and pocket-books, containing 

information for everybody, with pockets to 

hold money, and a pencil to write with in the 

bargain, and a van stuffed with the cheap productions 

of Sheffield and " Brummagem,"—he, too, is 

a patterer of the highest order, and visits fairs, 

and 

can hold a conversation in the rhyming Slang. 

Such is a rough description of the men who 

speak this jargon; and simple and ridiculous as 

the vulgar scheme of a rhyming Slang may appear, 

it must always be regarded as a curious fact in 

linguistic history. In order that the reader's 

patience may not be too much taxed, only a 

* The famous printers and publisbers of sheet songs and last 

dying speeches thirty years ago.

PATTEKEES "WELL UP" IN STREET SLANG, 267 

selection of rhyming words has been given in the 

Glossary,—and these for the most part, as in the 

case of the back Slang, are 

the terms of everyday 

life, as used by this order of tramps and hucksters. 

It must not be supposed, however, that the 

chaunter or patterer confines himself entirely to 

this Slang when conveying secret intelligence. 

On 

the contrary, although he speaks not a " leash of 

languages," yet is 

he master of the beggars' Cant, 

and is thoroughly " up" in street Slang. The following 

letter, written by a chaunter to a gentleman 

who took an interest in his welfare, will show his 

capabilities in this line. 

Dear Friend,* 

Excuse the liberty, since i 

saw you last i 

* The writer, a street chaunter of ballads and last dying 

speeches, alludes in his letter to two celebrated criminals, Thos 

Drory, the murderer of Jael Denny, and Sarah Chesham, who 

poisoned her husband, accounts of whose Trials and " Horrid 

Deeds" he had been selling. I give a glossary of the cant words : 

Thickfvm, a crownpiece. 

Dowry ofParny, a lot of rain. 

St/umped, bankrupt. 

Coopered, spoilt. 

Boiaman, a farmer. 

•«* Drory was a farmer. 

Patter, trial. 

Taps, last dying speeches. 

Dies, 

Groaksy 

ib. 

ib. 

Bwrick, a woman. 

Topped, hung. 

Sturaban, a prison. 

Quid, a sovereign. 

James, ib. 

Clye, a pocket. 

Caraer, a house or residence. 

Speel on the Dram, to be oflf to 

the country. 

All Square, all right, or quite 

welL

268 CCRIOUS LETTER FROM A CHAUNTER. 

have not earned a tHckun, we have had snch a 

Dowry of Pamy that it completely stumped or 

Coopered Drory the Bossmans Patter therefore i 

am broke up and not having another friend but 

you i wish to know if you would lend me the 

price of 2 Gross of Tops, Dies, or Croaks, which 

is 7 

shillings, of the above mentioned worthy and 

Sarah Chesham the Essex Burick for the Poisoning 

job, they are both to be topped at Springfield 

Sturaban on Tuesday next, i hope you will obHge 

me if you can for it will be the means of putting a 

Quid or a James in my Clye. i will call at your 

Carser on Sunday Evening next for an answer, for 

i want to Speel on the Di-um as soon as possible, 

hoping you and the family are All Square, 

I remain Your obedient Servant,

GLOSSAEY 

EHYMIKG SLANG. 

ABRAHAM'S WILLING, a shiUiDg. 

ALACOMPAIN, rain. 

ALL AFLOAT, a coat. 

ANY RACKET, a penny faggot. 

APPLES AND PEARS, stairs. 

ARTFUL DODGER, a lodger. 

ARTICHOKE RIPE, smoke a pipe. 

BABY PAPS, caps. 

BARNET FAIR, hair. 

BATTLE OF THE NILE, a tile—vulgar term for a bat. 

BEN FLAKE, a steak. 

BILLY BUTTON, mutton. 

BIRCH BROOM, a room. 

BIRD LIME, time. 

BOB, MY PAL, a gal,—vulgar pronunciation of girl. 

BONNETS SO BLUE, Irish stew. 

BOTTLE OF SPRUCE, a deuce,—slang for twopence. 

BOWL THE HOOP, soup. 

BRIAN O'LINN, gin. 

BROWN BESS, yes—the affirmative. 

BROWN JOE, no—the negative. 

BULL AND COW, a row. 

BUSHY PARK, a lark. 

• 

BUTTER FLAP, 

. 

a cap.


GAIN AND ABEL, a table. 

CAMDEN TOWN, a brown,—vulgar term for a halfpenny. 

CASTLE RAG, a flag,—slang term for fourpence. 

CAT AND MOUSE, a house. 

CHALK FAEM, the arm. 

CHARING CROSS, a horse. 

CHARLEY LANCASTER, a handkeroher,—vulgar pronunciation 

of handkerchief. 

CHARLEY PRESCOTT, waistcoat 

CHERRY RIPE, a pipe. 

CHEVY CHASE, the face. 

CHUMP (or chunk) OF WOOD, no good. 

COW AND CALF, to laugh. 

COVENT GARDEN, a farden,—Cockney pronunciation of 

farthing. 

COWS AND KISSES, mistress or missus—referring to the 

ladies. 

CURRANTS AND PLUMS, thrums,— slang for threepence. 

DAISY RECROOTS (so spelt by my informant of Seven 

Dials ; he means, doubtless, recruits), a pair of boots. 

DAN TUCKER, butter. 

DING DONG, a song. 

DRY LAND, you understand. 

DUKE OF YORK, take a walk. 

EAST AND SOUTH, a mouth. 

EAT A FIG, to " crack a crib," 

to break into a house, or oommit 

a burglary. 

EGYPTIAN HALL, a ball. 

ELEPHANT'S TRUNK, drunk. 

EPSOM RACES, a pair of braces. 

EVERTON TOFFEE, coffee. 

FANNY BLAIR, the hair. 

FILLET OF VEAL, the treadwheel, house of correction. 

FINGER AND THUMB, rum. 

FLAG UNFURLED, a man of the world. 

FLEA AND LOUSE, a bad house. 

FLOUNDER AND DAB (two kinds of flat fish), a cab. 

FLY MY KITE, a Ught.

THE RHYMING SLANG. 271 

FROG AND TOAD, the main road. 

GARDEN GATE, a magistrate. 

GERMAN FLUTES, a pair of boots. 

GIRL AND BOY, a saveloy,—a penny sausage. 

GLORIOUS SINNER, a dinner. 

GODDESS DIANA (pronounced dianer), a tanner,—sixpence. 

GOOSEBERRY PUDDING {vulgo pudden), a woman. 

HANG BLUFF, snuff. 

HOD OF MORTAR, a pot of porter. 

HOUNSLOW HEATH, teeth. 

I DESIRE, a fire. 

I'M AFLOAT, a boat. 

ISLE OF FRANCE, a dance. 

ISABELLA (vulgar pronunciation, isabelleb), an umbrella. 

I SUPPOSE, the nose. 

JACK DANDY, brandy. 

JACK RANDALL (a noted pugilist), a candle. 

JENNY LINDER, a winder,—vulgar pronunciation of window. 

JOE SAVAGE, a cabbage. 

LATH AND PLASTER, a master. 

LEAN AND LURCH, a church. 

LEAN AND FAT, a hat. 

LINENDRAPER, paper. 

LIVE EELS, fields. 

LOAD OF HAY, a day. 

LONG ACRE, a baker. 

LONG ACRE, a newspaper. See the preceding. 

LORD JOHN RUSSELL, a bustle. 

LORD LOVEL, a shovel. 

LUMP OF COKE, a bloak,-^lang term for a man. 

LUMP OF LEAD, the head. 

MACARONI, a pony. 

MAIDS A DAWNING (I suppose my informant means maids 

adorning), the morning. 

MAIDSTONE JAILOR, a tailor. 

MINCE PIES, the eyes. 

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, water.


MUFFIN BAKER, a Quaker. 

NAVIGATORS, taturs,—vulgar pronunciation of potatoes. 

NAVIGATOR SCOT, baked potatoes all hot. 

NEEDLE AND THREAD, bread. 

NEVER FEAR, a pint of beer. 

NIGHT AND DAY, go to the play. 

NOSE AND CHIN, a winn, ancient cant for a penny. 

NOSE-MY, backy,—vulgar pronunciation of tobacco. 

OATS AND BARLEY, Charley. 

OATS AND CHAFF, a footpath. 

ORINOKO (pronounced orinokeb), a poker. 

OVER THE STILE, sent for trial. 

PADDY QUICK, thick ; or, a stick. 

PEN AND INK, a stink. 

PITCH AND FILL, BUI,—vulgar shortening for William, 

PLATE OF MEAT, a street 

PLOUGH THE DEEP, to go to sleep. 

PUDDINGS AND PIES, the eyes. 

READ OF TRIPE (?), transported for life. 

READ AND WRITE, to fight. 

READ AND WRITE, flight.—See preceding. 

RIVER LEA, tea. 

ROGUE AND VILLAIN, a shillin,—common pronunciation of 

shilling. 

RORY O'MORE, the floor. 

ROUND THE HOUSES, trouses,—vulgar pronunciation of 

trousers. 

SALMON TROUT, the mouth. 

SCOTCH PEG, a leg. 

SHIP IN FULL SAIL, a pot of ale. 

SIR WALTER SCOTT, a pot,—of beer. 

SLOOP OF WAR, a whore. 

SNAKE IN THE GRASS, a looking glass. 

SORROWFUL TALE, three months in jaiL 

SPLIT ASUNDER, a costermonger. 

SPLIT PEA, tea. 

SPORT AND WIN, Jim. 

STEAM PACKET, a jacket.

THE RHYMING SLANG. 273 

writing, ex- 

ST. MARTINS-LE-GRAND, the hand. 

STOP THIEF, beef. 

SUGAR AXD HONEY, money. 

SUGAR CANDY, brandy. 

TAKE A FRIGHT, night, 

THREE QUARTERS OF A PECK, the neck,—in 

pressed by the simple " |." 

THROW ME IN THE DIRT, a shirt. 

TOMMY O'RANN, scran,—^vulgar term for food. 

TOM TRIPE, a pipe. 

TOM RIGHT, night. 

TOP JINT (vul

^

THE 

BIBLIOGEAPHY 

OF 

SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR LANGUAGE; 

OR A 

LIST OF THE BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED IN COM- 

PILING THIS WORK, 

OOMPRISIKO KBAR.lt EVERY KNOWN TREATISE UPON THE SUBJECT. 

Slaxg lias a literary history, the same as authorised 

language. More than one hundred works have 

treated upon the subject in one form or another, 

a few devoting but a chapter, whilst many have 

given up their entire pages to expounding its history 

and use. Old Harman, a worthy man, who 

interested himself in suppressing and exposing 

vagabondism in the days of good Queen Bess, was 

the first to write upon the subject. Decker followed 

fifty years afterwards, but helped himself, 

evidently, to his predecessor's labours. Shakespere, 

Beaumont and Fletcher, Ben Jonson, and Brome, 

each employed beggars' Cant as part of the machinery 

of their plays. Then came Head (who 

wrote "The English Kogue," in 1G80) with a 

t2

27G 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AXD CANT. 

glossary of Cant words "used by the Gipseys." 

But it was only a reprint of what Decker had 

given sixty years before. About this time authorised 

dictionaries began to insert vulgar words, 

labelling them " Cant." The Jack Sheppards and 

Dick Turpins of the early and middle part of the 

last 

century made Cant popular, and many small 

works were published upon the subject. But it 

was Grose, burly, facetious Grose, who, in the year 

1785, collected the scattered glossaries of Cant and 

secret 

words, and formed one large work, adding 

to it all the vulgar words and Slang terms used in 

his own day. I am aware that the indelicacy and 

extreme vulgarity of the work renders it a disgrace 

to its 

compiler, still we must admit that it is 

by far the most important work which has ever 

appeared on street or popular language; indeed, 

fi'om its pages every succeeding work has, up to 

the present time, drawn its contents. The great 

favilt of Grose's book consists in the author not 

contenting himself with Slang and Cant terras, but 

the inserting of every " smutty" and offensive word 

that could be raked out of the gutters of the streets. 

However, Harman and Grose are, after all, the 

only authors who have as yet treated the subject in 

an original manner, or have written on it from 

personal inquiry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. 277 

AINSWORTH'S (William Harrison) Novels and Ballads. 

London, V. D. 

Some of this antlior's novels, such as Rookwood and Jack Sheppard, 

abound in cant words, placed in the mouths of the hish'.vfiymen. 

The author's ballads (especially "Nix my dolly pals fake away,") 

have lung been popular favourites. 

ANDREWS' (George) Dictionary of the Slang and Cant Languages, 

Ancient and Modern, 12mo. London, 1809 

A sixpenny pamphlet, with a coloured frontispiece representicg a 

beggar's carnival. 

A NEW DICTIONARY OF THE JAUNTING CREW, 12mo. 

N. D. 

Mentioned by John Bee in the Introduction to his Sportsman's Slang 

Dictionary. 

ASH'S (John, LL.D.) New and Complete Dictionary of the 

Englijih Language, 2 vols. 8vo. 1775 

Cintair.s a great number of cant words and phrases. 

BACCHUS AND VENUS ; 

or, a Select Collection of near 200 

of the most Witty and Diverting Songs and Catches in Love 

and Gallantry, with Songs in the Canting Dialect, with a 

Dictionary, explaining all Burlesque and Canting Terms, 

12mo. 1738 

Prefixed is a curious woodcut frontispiece of a Boozirvt Ken, This 

work is scarce, and much prized by collectors. "The Cantinar 

l)ictior;ary appeared before, about 1710, with the initials B. B. on 

the title. It also came out aftprwards, in the year \75\, under the 

title of the Scoundrel's Dicticmary,—a mere reprint of the two 

former impressions. 

BAILEY'S (Nath.) Etymological English Dictionary, 2 vols, 8vo 

1737 

Contains a great many cant and vulgar words ;— indeed, Bailey dees 

not appear to have been very particular what words he insetted, so 

long as they were actually in use. A CotUction of Ancient cwl 

Modern Cant Word) appears as an appendix to vol. ii. of this 

edition (3rd). 

BANG-UP DICTIONARY, or the Lounger and Sportsman's 

Vade Mecum, containing a copious and correct 

Glossai-y of 

the Language of the Whips, illustrated by a great variety of 

original and curious Anecdotes, 8vo. 1812 

A vulgar performance, consisting of pilferings from Grose, and 

made-up words with meanings of a degraded character. 

BARTLETT'S Dictionary of Americani-^^ras ; a Glossary of 

Words and Phrases colloquially used in the United States, 

Svo. New Tork, 1859 

It is a curious fact connected with slang that a great number of 

vulgar words common in England are equally common in the

278 BIBLIOGKAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. 

United States ; and when we remember that America hegan to 

people two centuries apo, and that these coll:)quialisms must have 

crossed the sea with the first emigrants, we can form some idea of 

the antiquity of popular or street lanjûagfe. Many words, o^vin^ 

to the caprices of fishion or society, have wholly disappeared iu 

the parent country, whilst iu the colonies they are yet heard. The 

words sKiNK, to serve drink in company, and the old term kich- 

UTG or MEKcniNG, skulking or playing truant, for iastaiice, are 

still in use in the United States, although nearly, if not quite, 

obsolete here. 

BEAUMONT and FLETCHER'S Comedy oi The Bejgar's Bush, 

4to, 1661, or any edition. 

Contains numerous cant words. 

BEE'S (Jon.) Dictionary of the Turf, the Rin^, the Chase, the 

Pit, the Bon Ton, and the Varieties of Life, forming the 

completest and most authentic Lexicon Balatrouieum 

liitLerto offered to the notice of the Sporting World, by 

Jon. Bee [i.e. John Badcock], Esq., Editor of the Fancy, 

Fancy Gazette, Living Picture of Loudon, and the like of 

that, 12mo. 1823 

This author published books on Stable Economy under the name of 

Hinds. He was the sporting rival of Pierce Egan. Professor 

^îlson, in an amusing article in BlacL-icood't Magazine, reviewed 

this work. 

BEE'S (Jon.) Living Picture of London for 1828, and Stranger's 

Gnide through the Streets of the Metropolis ; shewing the 

Frauds, the Arts, Snares, and Wiles of all descriptions of 

Rogues that everywhere abound, 12mo. 

1S28 

Professes to be a guide to society, hisrh and low, in London, and to 

give an insight into the language of the streets. 

BEE'S (Jon ) Sportsman's Slang, a New Dictionaiy of Terms used 

in the affairs of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, and the 

Cockpit ; with those of Bon Ton and the Varieties of Life, 

forming & Lexicon Balatronicum et Macaronicum, d:c., 12mo, 

plaie. For the Author, 1825 

The same as the preceding, only with an altered title. Both wretched 

performances, filled with forced and low wit. 

BLACKGUARDIANA ; or. Dictionary of Rogues, Bawds, &c., 

8vo, WITH PORTRAITS [by Jamcs Caulfeld]. 1795 

This work, with a long and very vulgar title, is nothing but a reprint 

of Grose, with a few anecdotes of pirates, odd persons, &c.. aiH some 

curious portraits inserted. It was concocted by Caulfield as a 

speculation, and published at one ffuiiiea per copy ; and, owing to 

the remarkalla title, and the notification at the bottom, that ' ' only 

a few copies were printed," soon became scarce. For philological 

purposes it is not worth so much as any edition of Grose.


B9XIANA, or Sketches of Modem Pugilism, by Pierce Egan (an 

account of the prize xnng), 3 vols, 8vo. 1820 

Gives more particularly the cant terms of pugilism, but contains numerous 

(what were then styled) " flash" words. 

BRANDON. Poverty, Mendicity, and Crime; or, the Facts, 

Examinations, &c., upon which the Report was founded, 

presented to the House of Lords by W. A. Miles, Esq., to 

which is added a Dictionary of the Flask or Cant Languaf/e, 

known to every Thief and Beggar, edited by H. Brandon, 

Esq., 8vo, 1839 

A very wretched performance. 

BROME'S (Rich.) Joviall Crew; or the Merry Beggars. Presented 

in a Comedie at the Cockpit, in Drury Lane, in the 

Year (4 to.) 1652 

Contains many cant words similar to those given by Decker,—from 

whose works they were doubtless obtained. 

BROWN'S (Rev. Hugh Stowell) Lecture on Manliness, 12mo. 

1857 

Contains a few modern slang words. 

BRYDGES' (Sir Egerton) British Bibliographer, 4 vols, Svo. 

1810—14 

Vol ii., 

page 521, gives a list of cant words. 

BULWEKS (Sir Edward Lytton) Paul Clifford, v. D. 

Contains numerous cant words, 

BULWER'S (Sir Edward Lytton) Pelham, v. D. 

Contains a few cant terms. 

BUTLER'S Hudibras, with Dr. Grey's Annotations, 3 vols, Svo. 

1819 

Abounding in colloquial terms and phrases. 

CAMBRIDGE. Gradus ad Cantabrigiam ; or a Dictionary of 

Terms, Academical and Colloquial, or Cant, which are used 

at the University, with Illustrations, 12mo. Camb., 1803 

CANTING ACADEMY 

; or ViUanies Discovered, wherein are 

shewn the Mysterious and Villanous Practices of that 

Wicked Crew— Hectors, Trapanners, Gilts, &c., with several 

new Catches and Songs ; also Compleat Canting Dictionary, 

12mo., frontispiece. 1674 

Comjilcd by Richard Head. 

CANTING ; a Poem, interspersed with Tales and additional 

Scraps, post 8vo. 1814 

A few words may be gleaned from this rather dull poem.

"280 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AXD CANT. 

CANTING DICTIONARY ; comprehending all the Terms, 

Antient and Modern, used in the seveial Tribes of Gypsies, 

Beggars, Shoplifters, Highwaymen, Foot Pad?, and all other 

Clans of Cheats and Villains, with Proverbs, Phrases, Figurative 

Speeches, &c., to which is added a complete Collection 

of Songs in the Canting Dialect, 12mo. 1725 

CAREW. 

The title it by far the most interesting part of the work. A mere 

make-up of earlier attempts. 

Life and Adventures of Bamfylde Moore Carew, the 

King of the Beggars, with Cantlnff Dictionai-y, portrait, 8vo. 

1791 

There are nnmerous editions of this singnlar biography. The Canting 

Dictionary is uothuig more than a filch from earlier books. 

CHARACTERISMS, or the Modern Age Displayed ; being an 

attempt to expose the Pretended Virtues of Both Sexes, 

12mo (part i.. Ladies; part ii., Gentlemen), K Owen. 1750 

An anonymous work, from which some carious matter may be 

obtained. 

CONYBEARE'S (Dean) Essay on Church Parties, reprinted from 

the Edinburgh Review, No. CC, October, 1853, 12mo. 1858 

Several curious instances of religious or pulpit slang are given in 

this exceedingly interesting little volume. 

COTTON'S (Charles) Genuine Poetical Works, 12mo. 1771 

Scarronides. or Virgil Travestie, being the first and fourth Books of 

Virgil's xEneis, in English burlesque, Svo, 1672, and other works 

b> this author, contain numerous vulgar words now known as 

slang. 

DECKER'S (Thomas) The Bellman of London; bringing to 

light the most notorious villaniea that are new practised in 

the Kingdome, 4to, blatfe Utttr. London, 1608 

Watt says this is the first book which professes to give an account 

of the canting language of thieves and va?a''onds. But this is 

wrong, as will have been seen from the remarks on Harman, who 

collected the words of the vagabond crew half a century before. 

DECKER'S (Thoma-s) Lanthome and Candle-light, or the Bellman's 

Second Night's Walke, in which he brings to light a 

brood of more strange villanies than ever were to this year 

discovered, 4to. London, 1608 9 

This is a continnation of the former work, and ctntains ibe Canter's 

JHctionary, and has a frontispiece of the London Watchman wiih 

his staif broken. 

DECKER'S (Thomas) Gulls Hornbook, 4to. 1609 

" This work affords a greater insight into the fashionable follies and 

vulj;ar habits ofQ lElizabeth's day than i-crhaps any other extant."


DECKER'S (Thomas) per se 0, or a new Cryer of Lanthorne 

aud Candle-ligLt, au Addition of the Bellman's Second 

Night's Walks, 4to, tlatfe Iftter. 1612 

A lively description of London. Contains a Canter's Dictionary, 

BTcry word in which appears to have been taken from Harman 

withont acknowledgment. This is the first work that gives the 

Canting Song, a verse of which is inserted at page 20 of the 

Introduction. This Canting Song was afterwards inserted in 

nearly all Dictionaries of Cant. 

DECKER'S (Thomas) Villanies discovered by Lanthorne and 

Candle-light, and the Helpe of a new Cryer called per se 

0, 4to. 1616 

" With Canting Songs neuer before printed." 

DECKER'S (Thomas) English Vilhnies, eight several times 

prest to Death by the iPrinters, but still leviving again, are 

now the eighth time (as at the first) discovered by Lanthorne 

aud Candle-light, &c., 4to. 1648 

The eighth edition of the " Laniho'i-ne and Candle-light." 

DICTIONARY of all 

the Cant and Flash Languages, both Ancient 

and Modern, 18mo. Bailey, 1790 

DICTIONARY of all the Cant and Flash Languages, 12mo. 

London, 1797 

DICTIONARY of the Canting Crew (Ancient and Modern), of 

Gypsies, Beggars, Thieves, &c., 12mo. N. D, [1700] 

DICTIONNAIRE des Halle, 12mo. Bruxelles, 1696 

This carious Slang Di-jtionary sold in the Stanley sale for £-1 IBs. 

DUCANGE ANGLICUS.—The Vulgar Tongue: comprising 

Two Glo^-saiiea of Slang, Cant, and Flash Words and Phrases 

used in L(-ndon at the present day, 12mo. 1857 

A silly and childish performance, full of blunders and oontradictiona. 

A second edition appeared during the past year. 

DUNCOMBE'S Flash Dictionary of the Cant Words, Queer 

Sayings, and Crack Terms now in use in Flash Cribb Society, 

32mo, coloured print. 1820 

DUNTON'S Ladies Dictionary, 8vo. London, 1694 

Contains a few cant words. 

EQAN. Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 

with the addition of numerous Slang Phrases, edited by 

Pierce Kgan, 8vo. 1823 

The best edition of Grose, with many additions, inclading a Life of 

this celebrated antiquaiiau.


EGAN'S (Pierce) Life io London, 2 vols, thick 8vo, with coloured 

platesby Qeo-Cruilshanh, representing hi[/h and low life. 18 — 

Contains numerous cant, slang sportinpf, and vulvar words, supposed 

by the author to form the basis of conversation in life, hig;h and 

low, in London. 

ELWYN'S (Alfred L) Glossary of Bupposed Americanisms— 

Vulgar and Slang Words used in the United States, small 

Svo, 1859 

GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, Svo. 

n.d. 

" In a very early volume of this parent magazine were îven a few 

pas;es, by way of sample, of a Slan^ Vocabulary, then termed Cant. 

If, as we suspect, this part of the Magazine fell to the share of Dr. 

Johnson, who was then its editor, we have to lament that he did 

not proceed with the design." John Bee, in the IiUroduccion to his 

Slang Dictionary, 1825. 

GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, vol. xcii., p. 520. 

Mention made of slang. 

GLOSSARIES of County Dialects. v. D. 

Many of these will repay examination, as they contain cant and slang 

words, wrongly inserted as provincial or old terms. 

GOLDEN CABINET (The) of Secrets opened far Youth's delightful 

Pastime, ia 7 parts, the last being the " City and 

Country Jester ;" vfith a Canting Dictionary, by Dr. Surinan, 

12mo. London, N.D. (1730) 

Contains some curious woodcuts. 

GREENE'S (Robert) Notable Discovery of Coosnage, now daily 

practised by sundry lewd persons called Conie-catchers and 

Crosse biters. Plainly laying open those pernitious sleights 

that hath brought many ignorant men to confusion. Writen 

for the general benefit of all Gentlemen, Citizens, Apreutices, 

Country Farmers, and Yeomen, that may hap to fall into 

the company of such coosening companions. With a delightful 

discourse of the coosnage of Colliers, 4to, with 

woodcuts. Printed by John Wolfe, 1591 

Theflrst edilinn. A copy of another edition, supposed to be unique, 

is dated 1592. It was sold at the Heber sale. 

GREENE'S (Robert) Groundworke of Conny-Catching, the 

manner of thfir pedlers' French, and the meanes to understand 

the same, with the cunning slights of the Conterfeit 

Cranke. Done by a Justice of the Peace of great 

Authoritie, 4to, with woodcuts. 1592 

Usually enumerated amonpr Greene's work?, but it is only a reprint, 

with variations, of JJarman's Caveat, and of which Kowiand complains 

in his Martin Markall. The second and third parts of this


curious work were published in the same year. Two other very 

rare volumes by Greene were publislied Tlie Defence of Cony- 

CatchiiHj, 4to, in 1592, and The Ulack Bookb3 Mkssengsk, in 

1595. They both treat on the same subjects. 

GROSE'S (Francis, generally styled Captain) Classical Dictionary 

of the Vulgar Tongue, 8vo. 178 

The much sousrht after First Edition, but containing nothing, as 

far as I have examined, which is not to be found in the secoail and 

third editions. As respects indecency, I find all the editions 

equally disgraceful. The Museum copy of the First Edilvju is, I 

suspect, Grose's own copy, as it contains numenms manuscript 

additions which afterwards went to form tlie second edition. Exceptinof 

the obscenities, it is really an extraordinary book, and 

displays grreat industry, if we cannot speak much of its morality. 

It is the well from which all the other authors—Duncombe, Caulfield, 

Clarke, Egan, &o. &c.—drew their vulvar outpourings, without 

in the least purifying what they had stolen. 

HAQGART. Life of David Haggart, alias John Wilson, alias 

Barney M'Coul, written by him.self while under sentence of 

Death, curious frontispiece of the Prisoner in Irons, intermixed 

with all the Slang and Cant Words of the Day, to 

which is added a Glossary of the same, 12mo. 1821 

HALL'S (B. H.) Collection of College Words and Customs, 

1 2 mo. Cambridge ( ^7.

284 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. 

HARRISON'S (William) Description of the Island of Britain 

(prefixed to Holinshed's Chronicle, 2 vols, folio. 1577 

Contains an account of English vagabonds. 

EAZLITT'S (William) Table Talk, 12mo (vol. ii. contains a chapter 

on Familiar Style, with a notice on Slang Terms.) \. D. 

HEAD'S (Richard) English Rogue, described in the Life of 

Meriton Latroon, a Witty Extravagant, 4 vols., 12mo. 

Frans. Kirkmaii, 1671-SO 

Contains a list of cant words, evidently copied from Decker. 

HELL UPON EARTH, or the most pleasant and delectable 

History of Whittingtou's Colledge, otherwise vulgarly cnlled 

Newgate, 12mo. 1703 

HENLEY'S (John, better Jcnown as orator henley) Various 

Kermons and Orations. 1719-53 

Contain numerous vulgarisms and slang phrases. 

[HITCHING'S (Charles, formerly City Marshal, now a Prisoner 

in Newgate)] Regulator ; or, a Discovery of the Thieves, 

Thief- Takers, and Locks, alias Receivers of Stolen Goods in 

and about the City of London, also an Account of all the 

FLASH WORDS now in rogue amongst the Thieves,


LEXICON Balatronicum ; a Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University 

Wit, and Pickpocket Eioqueuce, by a Member of 

the Wliip Club, assisted by Hell-fire Dick, 8vo. 1811 

One of the many reprints of Grose's second edition, put forth under a 

fresh, and what was then considered more attractive title. It was 

given out in advertisements, iStc, as a piece of puff, that it was 

edited by a Dr. H. Clarke, but it contains scarcely a line more 

than Grose. 

LIBER VAGATORUM : 

Der Betler Orden, 4to. 

The first edition of this book appears to have been printed at 

Augsburg, by Erhard Oglin, or Ocellus, about 1514,— a small 

quarto of twelve leaves. It was frequently reprinted at other 

places in Germany; and in 1523 there appeared an edition at 

Wittemberp, with a preface by Martin Luther, who says that the 

" Kolwelsche Sprach," the cant languajre of the beggars, comes 

from the Jews, as it contains miny Hebrew words, as anyone who 

understands that language may perceive. This book is divided 

into three parts, or sections ; the first gives a special account of 

tho several orders of the " Fraternity of Vagabonds;" the second, 

simdry " notabilia" relating to the difTerent classes of beggars 

previously described : and the third consists of a " Eotwelsche 

Vocaljulary," or "Canting Dictionary." There is a long notice of 

the " Liber Vagatorum" in the " Wiemarisches Jahrbuch," lO'e, 

Band, 1S56. Mayhew, in his " London Labour," states that many 

of our cant words are derived from the Jew fences. It is singular 

that a similar statement should have been made by Martm Luther 

more than three centuries before. 

LIFE IN ST. GEORGE'S FIELDS, or the Rambles and Adventures 

of Disconsolate William, Esq., and his Surrey 

Friend, Flash Dick, with Songs and a flash dictionary, 

Svo. 1821 

MAGINN (Dr.) wrote Slang Songs in Blackwood's Magazine. 

1827 

MAYHEW'S (Henry) London Labour and London Poor, 3 vols, 

Svo. 1851 

An invaluable work to the inquirer into popular or street language. 

MAYHEWS (Henry) Great World of London, 8vo. 1857 

An unfinished work, but containing several examples of the use and 

application of cant and slang words. 

MIDDLETON (Thomas) and DECKER'S (Thomas) Roaring 

Girl; or Moll Cut Purse, 4to. 1611 

The conversation in one scene is entirely in the so-called Pedlar's 

French. It is given in Dodaley's Old JfLaya. 

MODERN FLASH DICTIONARY, 48mo. 1825 

The smallest slang dictionary ever printed.


MONCRIEFFS Tom and Jerry, or Life in 

London, a Farce in 

Three Acts, 12mo. 1820 

An excellent exponent of the false and forced "high life" which 

was so popular during the minority of George IV. The farce had 

a run of a hundred nights, or more, and was a general favourite 

for years. It abounds in cant, and the language of " gig," as it 

was then often termed. 

MORNINGS AT BOW STREET, by T. Wright, 12mo, with 

Illustrations hy George Cruikshanh, Tegg, 1838 

In this work a few etymologies of slang words are attempted. 

NEW CANTING DICTIONARY, 12mo. n. d. 

A copy of this work is described in liodd's Catalogue of Elrgard Literature, 

1815, part iv.. No. 2128, with manuscript notes and additions 

in the autograph of Isaac Reed, price £1 8s. 

NEW DICTIONARY of the Term.s, Ancient and Modem, of 

the CautiDg Crew in its several tribes of Gypsies, BeggHrs, 

Thieves, Cheats, &c., with an addition of some Proverbs, 

Phrases, Figurative Speeches,

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SLANG AND CANT. 

1!G/ 

PERRY'S (William) London Guide and Stranger's Safejruard, 

against Cheats, Swindlers, and Pickpockets, by a Gentleman 

who has made the Police of the Metropolis an object of 

enquiry twenty-two years (no wonder when the author was 

in prison a good portion of that time !) 1818 

Contains a dictionary of slang and cant words. 

PHILLIPS' New World of Words, folio. 1696 

PICKERING'S (F.) Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and 

Phrases which have been supposed to be peculiar to the 

United States of America, to which is prefixed an Essay on 

the present state of the English Language in the United 

States, Svo. Boston, 1816 

The remark made upon BartleU's Americanisms applies equally to 

this work. 

PICTURE OF THE FANCY, 12mo. 

Contains numerous slang terms. 

IB- 

POTTERS (H. T., of Claij, Worcestershire) New Dictionary of 

all the Cant and Flask Languages, both ancient and modern, 

y 

Svo, pp. 62. 1790 

)^ POULTER. The Discoveries of John Poulter, alias Baxter, Svo, 

48 pages. (1770 ?) 

At pages 42, 43, there is an explanation of the "Language of 

Thieves, commonly called Cant." 

PRISON BREAKER, The, or the Adventures of John Shepheld, 

a Farce, Svo. London, 1725 

Contains a canting song, &c. 

PUNCH, or the London Charivari, 

Often points out slang, vulerar, or abused words. It also, occasionally, 

employs them in jokes, or sketches of cliaracter. 

QUARTERLY REVIEW, vol. x., p. 52S. 

RANDALL'S (Jack, 

Gives a paper on Americanisms and slang phrases. 

the pugilist, {ormerly of the "Hole in the 

Wall," Chancery lane) Diary of Proceedings at the House 

of Call for Genius, edited by Mr. Bieakwindow, to which 

are added several of ilr. B.'s minor pieces, 12mo. 1820 

Believed to have been wri( ten I'y Thomas Moore. The verses am 

mostly parodies of popular authors, and abound in the slang of 

pugilism, and the phiaseology of the fast lile of the period.


EA>rDALL (Jack) A Few Selections from his Scrap Book ; to 

wliich are added Poems on the late Fight for the Championship, 

12mo. 1822 

Frequently quoted by Moore in Tom Crib'» Memorial. 

SCOUNDREL'S DICTIONARY, or an Explanation of the Cant 

Words used by Thieves, Housebreakers, Street- robbers, and 

Pickpockets about Town, with some curious dissertations on 

the Art of Wheedling, &c., the whole printed from a copy 

taken on one of their gang, in the late scuffle between the 

watchmen and a party of them an Clerhenwell green, 8t'0. 

1754 

A reprint of Bacchvx and Veimt, 1737. 

SHARP (Jeremy) The Life of an English Rogue, 12mo. 1740 

Includes a " Vocabulary of the Gypsies' Callt." 

SHERWOOD'S Gazetteer of Georgia, U.S., 8fo* 

Contains a glossary of words, slang and \\i\six, peculiar to the 

Southern States. 

SMITH'S (Capt.) Compleat History of the Lives and Robberies 

of the most Notorious Highwaymen, Foot pads. Shop-lifts, 

and Cheats, of both Sexes, in and about Loudon and Westminster, 

12mo, vol. i. 1719 

This volume contains "Tete Thieves New Casting Dictiosabt 

OF THE WOKDS, PeOVEBBS, &C., USED BY XhIEVES." 

SMITH (Capt. Alexander) The Thieves Grammar, 12mo., 

p. 28. 17— 

A copy of this work is in the collection formed by Prince Lucien 

Bonaparte. 

SMITH'S (Capt) Thieves Dictionary, 12mo. 1724 

SNOWDEN'S Magistrate's Assistant, and Constable's Guide, 

thick small 8vo. 1852 

Gives a d>>scription of the various orders of cadpers, beggars, and 

swindlers, together with a Glossary o/Ote Fiasii. La.iitjtmgt. 

SPORTSMAN'S DICTIONARY, 4to. 17— 

By an anonymous author. Contains some low sporting terms. 

STANLEYE'S Remedy, or the Way how to Reform Wandriug 

Beg2;er8, Thieves, etc, wherein is shewed tbat Sodomes Sin 

of Idlenes is the Poverty and the Misery of this Kingdome, 

4to. 1646 

This work has an engraving on wood which is said to be the veritable 

original of Jim Crow.


SWIFT'S coarser pieces abound in vulgarities and slang expressions. 

THE TRIUMPH OF WIT, or Ingenuity display'd in its Perfaction, 

being the Newest and most Useful Academy, Songs, 

Art of Love, and the Mystery and Art of Canting, with 

Poems, Songs, die, in the Canting Language, 16mo. 

/. Clarice, 1735 

What is generally termed a sbilling Chap Book. 

THE TRIUMPH OF WIT, or the Canting Dictionary, being the 

Newest and most Useful Academy, containing the Mystery 

and Art of Canting, with the original and present management 

thereof, and the ends to which it serves and is employed, 

illustrated with Poems, Songs, and various Intrigues 

in the Canting Language, with the Explanations, &c., 12mo. 

Dublin, N. D. 

A Chap Book of 32 pages, circa 1760. 

THOMAS (L) My Thought Book, 8vo. 1825 

Contains a chapter on slang. 

THE WHOLE ART OF THIEVING and Defrauding Discovered 

: being a Caution to all Housekeepers, Shopkeepers, 

Salesmen, and others, to guard against Robbers of 

both Sexes, and the best Methods to prevent their Villanies 

; to which is added an Explanation of most of the 

cant terms in the Thieving Language, 8vo, pp. 46. 1786 

TOM CRIB'S Memorial to Congress, with a Preface, Notes, and 

Appendix hy one of the Fancy [Tom Moore, the poet], 12mo. 

1819 

A humorous poem, abounding in slang and pugilistic terms, with a 

burlesque essay on the classic origin of slang. 

VACABONDES, The Fratematye of, as well of ruflyng Vacabones, 

as of beggerly, of Women as of Men, of Gyrles as of 

Boyes, with their proper Names and Qualities, with a Description 

of the Crafty Company of Cousoners and Shifters, 

also the XXV. Orders of Knaves ; otherwyse called a Quartern 

of Knaves, confirmed by Cocke Lorell, 8vo. Imprinted 

at London by John Awdeley, dwellyng in little Britayne 

ttreete without Aldersgate. 1575 

It is stated in Ames' Typog. Antiq., vol. ii , p. 885, that an edition 

bearing the date 1565 is in existence, and that the compiler was no 

other than old John Audley, the printer, himself. This conjecture, 

however, is very doubtful. As stated by Watt, it is more than 

probable that it was written by Harman, or was taken from his 

works, in MS. or prinU


VAUX'S (Count de, a swindler and a pickpocket) Life, written 

by himself, 2 vols., 12mo, to which is added a Canting 

Dictionary. 1819 

These Memoirs were suppressed on account of the scandalons passages 

contained in them. 

WEBSTER'S (Noah) Letter to the Hon. John Pickering, on the 

Subject of his Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and 

Phrases supposed to be peculiar to the United States, 8vo, 

pp. 69. Boston, 1817 

WILD (Jonathan) History of the Lives and Actions of Jonathan 

Wild, Thieftaker, Joseph Blake, alias Blue skin, Footpad, 

and John Sheppard, Houseoreaker ; together with a CautiNG 

Dictionary by Jonathan Wild, woodcuts, 12mo. 

1750 

WILSON (Professor) contributed various Slang pieces to Blackwood^s 

Magazine ; including a Review of Bee's Dictionary. 

WITHERSPOON'S (Jbv., 

of America) Essays on Americanisms, 

Perversions of Language in the United States, Cant phrases, 

&c., 8vo., in the 4th vol. of his Works. Philadelphia, 1801 

The earliest work on American vulgrarisma. Originally published in 

a series of Essays, entitled the DrvM, which appeared in a 

periodical in 1761.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, &c. 

A.N.— Anglo-Nonnan. 

Ancieni, or Ancient English—^Whenever these terms are employed, it 

is meant to signify that the words to which they are attached were 

in respectable use in or previous to the reign of Elizabeth.—See Old. 

Ancient Cant—In use as a cant word in or previous to the reign of 

Elizabeth. 

A.S.—Anglo-Saxon. 

Beds.—Bedfordshure. 

Ciw.—A corruption. 

East.— Used in the Eastern Counties. 

Eng.—English. 

Fren.—French. 

Ger.—German. 

Glow.—Gloucestershire. 

Bants.—Hampshire, 

Ital.— Italian. 

L. iP*.—Lingua Franca, or Bastard Italian. 

Zoi.—Latin. 

Utic.—Lincolnshire. 

Midx.—Middlesex. 

JV^.i).—Nodate. 

JToj/.—Norfolk. 

Old, or Old English—In general use as a respectable word in or previous 

to the reign of Charles the Second.—See Ancient. 

Old Cant—In use as a cant word in or previous to the reign of Charles II. 

Oxon.—Oxfordshire 

Prov.—ProvinciaL 

Pug.—Pugilistic. 

Sal., or Salop—Shropshire. 

Sax.— Saxon, or Anglo-Saxon. 

Scot.—Scotch. 

Sea—Used principally by Sailors. 

Shaks.—Shakspeare. 

Som.—Somerset. 

Span.—Spanish. 

iSu/.—Suffolk. 

Theat. —Theatrical. 

TeiU.—Te utonic. 

V. D.—Various dates. 

ITerf.-Used in the Western Counties. 

ITiti*.—Wiltshke. 

Wore.—Worcestershire. 

Yorks.—Yorkshire.

New Books Published by 

JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, 

15lB, 

PICCADILLY. 

Now ready, Secoitd Editioit, beautifully printed, Fcap. 8vo, pp. 316, 

cloth extra, 48. 6d., 

A Dictionary of Modern Slang, 

Cant, 

and VULGAR WORDS, used at the present day in the Streets of London 

the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge ; the Houses of Parliament 

the Dens of St. Giles ; and the Palaces of St. James : preceded by a 

History op Cant and Vtilgae Lanquagb /rom the time of Henry VIII., 

showi'iig it.1 connection with the Gipskt Tongub ; with Glossabies of 

Two Secret Languages, spoken by the Wandering Tribes of London, the 

Costemiongers, and the Patterers. By a London Antiquahy. Pep. 8vo. 

extra cloth. With a ctjbious Woodcut, "A Cadger's Map of a 

Beggar's District," and Explanation of the Hibboglyfhics 

USED BY VaGABONDB. 

" Babble-charming words, which carry so much wild-fire wrapt up in them." 

South. 

^^ The Second Edition, entirely rewritten, with more than two 

THOUSAND additional words, and a mass of fresh information not included in 

the/r«« issue. 

This interesting work is an important contribution to popular philologry, as 

it chronicles for the first time nearly Five Thousand Wobds used by persons 

of every denomination in common conversation, most op which abb contained 

IN NO English Dictionaey whatever. The origin of many cant 

and slang words is also traced. 

OPINIONS OP THE PRESS. 

" The author has spared no pains to make his little volume perfect, both by 

collecting original and unused material from costermongers, vagabonds, and 

tramps, and by consulting nearly all writers who have gone before. * » » 

The author divides Slang into historical, fashionable, parliamentary, military 

and dandy, university, religious, legal, literary, theatrical, civic, money, 

tJiopkeepers' and workm,en's slang,—the slang apologies for oatlis, and the slang 

of drunke)iness. The Freemasonry of tramps and beggars, and the hieroglyphics 

they use, is an interesting part of vagabond history that requires, if 

possible, further investigation. « » His work is carefully and honestlv 

performed, and we hope that the writer will read our remarks [five fall 

columns] in a proper spirit, and, in the latest slang of the present hour, will 

" TAKE IHBU on HIS HEAD LIKE A BIRD." AlllOUBUm. 

" Extremely interesting. This little volume is evidently the result of a 

great deal of labour, as all works must be that are, in the chief part, collected 

directly by the observation and care of the author: and this we believe is the 

case in the present instance. The author we suspect to bo identical with the 

publisher, and if so, he has had great opportunity by his possession of a large 

amount of scarce tracts, ballads, and street publications, of informing himself 

of the language of the vagabond portion of our population." Leader.

294 JOHN CAMDEJI HOTTEN's LIST. 

" There is a certain amomit of interest in preserving the origin of slang 

words as a record of existing manners, and of those starange popular sayings 

which have a rapid and almost universal popularity, and then fade away as 

rapidly. The combinations of language in cant are often curious. The 

London Antiquary informs us that the cant for a public house at the present 

day is suck cassa,—pure Saxon and pure Spanish."— ScUMrrfaif Revieic. 

" This is by far the most complete work upon a curious subject which has 

yet been compiled—a dictionary of more than three thousand words in current 

use in onr streets and alleys, lanes and by-ways, from which the learned 

lexicographers have turned aside with contempt."^-C/-ific. 

"This new Dictionary of our English cant and slang is full, and may be 

received as an amusing and suggestive little book of common knowledge into 

any household. Indecency has been omitted from its pages." Examiner. 

" The London ' Antiquary' has certainly taken up a very curious and interesting 

branch of linguistic research." ifvtes and Queries, 

" An instructive as well as amusing work. The author may be congratulated 

upon the successful issue of his labours in the field of vagabond and 

unrecognised speech." TUan in an article of t«i îaês. 

" An amusing work, and a most useful and valuable contribution to the 

study of words. It is absolutely necessary to all those who in fast life would 

"mind their P's and Q's," as well as to the readers of our newspaper and 

periodical literature." Montrose Review. 

" We do not wonder that of so quaint and entertaining a compilation a new 

edition should so soon have been demanded." Globe, 

" Contains a good deal of curious historical and anecdotical information, 

and is altogether a well got up, well edited, and amusing little volume." 

Shipping Gazette. 

" Evinces a great amount of industry."—3fominj7 Star. 

Beautifully printed, 12mo., cloth, 3s. 6d., 

THE CHOICEST HUMOROUS POETRY OP THE AGE. 

The Biglow Papers. 

By James Russell 

LOWELL. (Alluded to by John Bright in the House of Commons.) 

WITH AN ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. 

»»* This Edition has been. Edited with additional Notes explanatory of the 

persons and subjects mentioned therein. 

" The rhymes are as startling and felicitous as any in ' ' 

Hudibras.* Sam 

Slick is a mere pretender in comparison." Blackwood's Magazine. 

" The fun of the ' Biglow Papers ' is quite equal to the fun of the ' Ingoldsby 

Legends.' This is the real doggerel, the Rabelaiesque of poetry."— 

Froier. 

f^' There is an edition of this work extant, hastily got up after my own 

was announced, edited by Mr. Hughes, the author of Tom Brown's School Bays. 

It gives an introduction, long and occasionally amusing, but of not the least 

value in explaining to the Eiujiish reader the peculiarities of the work. The 

Globe pointed out this sad defect in reviewing the present edition :—" The 

copy beside us," remarks the writer, " is apparently edited and published by 

Mr. Hotten, who gives a preface—which has the rare merit of explaining 

exactly what the ordinary English reader requires to know of satirical political 

poems, written in the Yankee dialect, touching the Mexican war, and the 

extension of the slave states—and of attempting to explain nothing else."— 

Globe, Dec. 8, 1859.

JOHN CAMDEN HOTTBN'S LIST. 295 

Now ready, Ssconb EDiiioif, fcap. 8vo, neatly printed, price Is., 

Macaulay; the Historian, Statesman, 

nnd ESSAYIST : Anecdotes of his Life and Literary Labours, with some 

Account of his Early and Unknown Writings. 

*«* Also, a fine paper Edition, cloth, neat, \vith a Photographic Portrait 

(die Wily one known to have been taken) by Maull and Poltblank, price 2s. 6d. 

^^ Includes Anecdotes of Stdnkt Smith, Moobk, Bogbrs, and Lobs 

Jeffeet ; and gives numerous examples of Lord Macaulay's extraordinary 

memory and great powers of conversation. 

" A brilliant sketch of the fêaX historian, containing particulars of his 

youthful compositions, which are new and deeply interesting."— i/«)-aW. 

" We regard the little work before us as a rery opportune publication. 

The author has brouef't tosrether such a mass of facts, sketches, and anecdotes, 

illustrative of the character and mind of Lord Macaulay, that the 

book is very valuable as supplying, in a small compass, a faithful and vivid 

account of the great historian." Bradford RevieM. 

" An interesting account of a man who was an ornament to our nation. Of 

the extraordinary capacity and availability of his memory many wonderful 

stories are told. Evangelical Repository. 

" This work is well timed. Here we really have all that is known concerning 

the great man. The little book brings together with much dexterity 

and success very various and very scattered materials. We have been 

peculiarly interested in the details of the late illustrious Baron's youthful 

productions. Never before has Wordswo'lih's famous couplet, " The boy is 

father of the man," received so vivid illustration. It is earnestly to be hoped 

that the whole of these early papers, and his inedited speeches and addresses 

written and spoken in the flush of his powers, and with all the wealth of 

illustration that so distinguished him, shall be collected. Why not at once 

by the writer of the present brilliant sketch ? We know not who he is, but 

he is a man of no common powers. He has evidently, too, put his heart into 

his book. It thrills and throbs with reverent love towards the man. We 

like exceedingly his fresh, generous, glowing style ; and not less his genial, 

gossipy way of telling the many anecdotes with which his pages sparkle."— 

Advertiier. 

"Valuable from the original matter and anecdotes it gives concerning 

Macaulay's youthful productions." Leader. 

" We hear Mr. Hotten's little book on Macaulay is a success. Ten tiionsand 

copies sold within a few days !" Critie. 

Now ready, New akd Popular Eniiiox, neatly printed, fcap. 8vo, pp. 336, 

price 2s. 6d., 

Anecdotes of the Green Room and 

STAGE : or Leaves from an Actor's Note-Book, at Home and Abroad, 

by GEORGE VANDENHOFF. 

^^° Mr. Vandenhoff, who earned for himself, both in the Old and New 

Worlds, the title of The Classic Actob, has retired from the Stage. His 

extremely interesting, and include Original Anecdotes of 

reminiscences are 

the Keans (father and son), the two Kembles, Macready, Cooke, Liston, 

Farren, EUiston, Braham and his Sons, Phelps, Biickstoue, Webster, Chas. 

Mathews : Siddons, Vestris, Helen Faucit, Mrs. Nisbett, Miss Cushman, 

Miss O'Neil, Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Chas. Kean, Bachel, Bistori, and many 

other dramatic celebrities.

296 JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN'S LIST. 

Now ready, post 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d., 

Rubbing the Gilt Off: a West End Book 

for All Readers. By JOHN HOLLINGSHEAD, Author of " Under 

Bow Bells, a City Book for All Beaders." 

WITH A HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATION. 

The Hamiliation of Fogmoor. 

A Pet of the Law. 

Navy Dry Rot. 

How to Make a Madman. 

Nine Kings. 

CoiTTBllTB. 

The Suffering Sinecurist. 

A National Christmas BilL 

The Social Reformer. 

Mudfogon Colonies. 

Diplomatic World. 

The Man behind my Chair. 

An Official Scarecrow. 

A Model Theatre. Wanted, 

I 

a Court Guide. 

I 

" Clever and sagacious writing." Athetueum. 

" As a collection of papers which, through all their whimsical fancies, 

develope a political system with an earnestness and a consistency that are 

rare, we can cordially recommend Mr. Hollingshead's book."—iairfer and 

Saturday Atmlyst. 

"Mr. HoUingshead has lost nothing of his dramatic power."— Critic. 

"The stories are no less interesting and amusing than instructive."— 

Morning Star. 

"Mr. HoUingshead has considerably widened his range of humorous 

illustration, still keeping, however, to the field of political economy." JDaUy 

Newt. 

Now ready, fcap. Svo, cloth, price 3e. 6d., beautiMly printed, 

Gog and Magog ; 

or, the History of the 

Guildhall Giants. With Some Account of the Giants which Guard 

English and Continental Cities. By P. W. PAIRHOLT, P.S.A. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD BY THE AUTHOR. COLOURED 

AND PLAIN. 

»,* The critiques which have appeared upon this amusing little work have 

been uniformly favourable. The Athtruniini pronounces it a perfect model of 

Buccessftil antiquarian exposition, readable from the first line to the last. The 

Art Journal devot«8 a considerable space to the little work, and congratulates 

the author upon his success. The Leader contributes two full columns of 

eulogy. The Builder directs its readers to purchase it. The Critic says, in a 

long article, that it thoroughly explains who these old Giants were, the position 

they occupied in popular mythology, the origin of their names, and a 

score of other matters, all of much interest in throwing a light upon fabulous 

portions of our history.

JOHN CAHDEN HOTTEN*S LIST. 297 

Now ready, in 8vo, 4s., blue cloth and gold. 

Photographic Pleasures : Popularly 

pourtrayed with Pen and Pencil. By CUTHBEET BEDE, B.A., Author 

of "Verdant Green," &o. 

WITH SEVENTY HUMOEOUS DESIGNS BY THE AUTHOR. 

" The ludicrous side of Photography is fair game for the caricaturist. 

With much cleverness Mr. Bede has seized the salient points of the new 

art." AtheruTum. 

" The work is full of illustrations, radiant with the raciness of Cruikshank, 

the broad and round humour of Bowlandson, knowledge of the world of 

Doyle, and quick apprehension of Leech." Herald. 

NEW WORK BY THE LATE DOUGLAS JEEEOLD. 

Nearly ready, in Two Vols. 8to, cloth, extra. 

Old Wine in New Bottles : Tales and 

Sketches of Life and Character, by DOUGLAS JERROLD, edited, with 

an Introduction, by his son, Blanchard Jerrold. With Illustrations by 

John Leech. 

*»* This work will contain some of the most characteristic pieces from the 

pen of the master wit—tales hitherto unknown and untold. Amongst others 

may be enumerated : 

Some Account of a Stage Devil. 

Baron von Botts, a Tale of Blood. 

A Chapter on Black Dogs. 

The Actress at the Duke's. 

Papers of a Gentleman-at-Arms. 

Bully Bottom's Babes. 

The Rocking Horse. 

Dly Husband's Winnings: a Household 

Incident. 

The Lamp-post: a Household Narrative. 

Midnight at Madame T.'s. 

The Old Boatman. 

Solomon's Ape. 

Patty Larkspur's Watch. 

The Tutor Fiend) and his Three 

Pupils. 

Lizzy's Back Hair. 

Christopher Snub, who was Bom'd to 

be Hang'd. 

Recollections of Guy Fawkes, Ac. 

&c. 

A Pedlar's Wallet : 

Neatly ready, in fcap. Svo, cloth extra, 

Filled from Household 

Words, by DUDLEY COSTELLO. 

This work will comprise some of the best papers contributed to Charles 

Dickens' fiunons periodical.

298 JOHN CAMDEN. HOTTEN'S LIST, 

Nearly ready, beaalifully printed, fcap. 8vo, price 3s. 6d. 

The Choicest Jests of English Wits; 

from the Eude Jokes of the Ancient Jesters, to the refined and impromptu 

Witticisms of Theodore Hook and Douglas Jerrold. Including 

the Cream of Joe Miller : comprising: the best Sayings, Facetions and 

Merry, which have contributed to give to our country the name of Merry 

England. 

Nearly ready, beautifully printed, on fine paper, fcap. 8vo, pp. 350, price 5s., 

The History of Playing Cards, and the 

VARIOUS GAMES connected with them, from the Earliest Ages 

with some Account of Card Conjuring, and Old-Fashioned Tricks. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH FORTY CtJEIOUS WOODCUTS ON TINTED 

PAPER. 

This most amusing' work, introducing the reader to a curious chapter of 

out social history, gives an interesting account, replete with anecdotes, of 

the most popular and widely known pastime which has ever been invented 

by man for his amusement. A morei nstructive and entertaining book could 

not be taken in hand for a pleasant hour's reading. 

Two Vols, royal 8vo, handsomely printed, £2 8s. 

Ancient Songs, Ballads, and Dance 

TUNES of the Olden Time, illustrative of the National Music of 

England, with Introductions to the different Reigns, and Notices of the 

Airs from Writers of the Sixteenth Century ; also a Short Account of 

the Minstrels, by W. CHAPPELL, F.S.A. 

This interesting work forms the largest and most complete collection of 

Ancient British Ballads and Songs ever published. The words are from the 

original old copies, and the addition of the Old Tunes to which they were 

formerly sung is an interesting and most curious feature. Several facsimiles 

adorn the work. 

Preparing for publication, fcap. 8vo, beautifully printed. 

Old English Ballads, relating to New 

England, the Plantations, and other Parts of North America; with 

Ancient Poetical Squibs on the Puritans and the Quakers who emigrated 

there ; now first collected from the original exoessively rare Broadsides 

sold in the streets at the time, and edited with Explanatory Notes. Ill'ustrated 

with facsimiles of the very singvXar woodciUi which adorn the 

original Songs and Ballads.

JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN'S tIST. 299 

Preparing for publication, beautifully printed, post 8vo, half morocco, 

Roxburghe style, 

Garland of Pepysian Ballads, Historical, 

ROMANTIC, and HUMOROUS, some illustrating Shakespere, edited by 

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT, Esq., LL.D. 

It is well known that the unfortunate regulation imposed by Pepys, the 

celebrated diarist, that his Manuscripts and Books should never be examined 

save in the presence of a Fellow of the College at Cambridge where they are 

preserved, has hitherto alone prevented the coUectin? and publishing some 

of the more interesting of these world-renowned Ballads and Songs. The 

difficulty, however, has been surmounted by Dr. Rimbault, aided by the 

authorities of Magdalene College ; and the lovers of our charming old popular 

poetry will be glad to know that a Garland of these Balladian ditties is in 

course of publication. The work will bo preceded by an Introduction on 

Ballad Lore, Ballad Writers, and Ballad Printers, giving some new and interesting 

particulars gathered from "old bookes." and other sources, hitherto 

unexplored The publisher would state that the work will be beautifully 

printed by Whittingham, and that it will be adorned by a curious woodcut 

facsimile frontispiece. 

Nearly ready, in small 4to, half morocco, very neat. 

An hitherto unknown Poem, written by John Bunyan, whilst confined in 

Bedford Jail, for the Support of his Family, entitled, 

Profitable Meditations, Fitted to Man's 

DIFFERENT CONDITION ; in a Conference between Christ and a 

Sinner. By JOHN BUNYAN, Servant to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Icfndon : Printed for Francis Smith at the Sign of the Elephant and Cattle 

without Temple Bar, 1661 

This very interesting, though melancholy literary memorial of the Author 

of the celebrated Pilgrim's Progress, will be choicely reprinted by Whittingham, 

from the only known copy lately discovered by the publisher. It will be 

edited, with an Introduction by George OlTor, Esq. The impression will be 

limited. 

Magna Charta. 

Now ready, price 5s. 

An Exact Facsimile of 

the Original Document, preserved in the British Museum, very carefully 

drawn, and printed on fine plate paper, nearly 3 feet long by 2 feet wide, 

with the Asms xvd Sb^ls ov thb Baboitb elaôbatbly eublazoitbd 

nr GOLD AND COLOtrSS. A.I>, 1216 

COPIED BY EXPRESS PERMISSION, and the only correct drawing of 

the Great Charter ever taken. This important memorial of the liberties and 

rights of Englishmen is admirably adapted for firaming, and would hang with 

propriety from the walls of every house in the country. As a guarantee to 

the purchaser that the facsimile is exact, the publisher need only state that 

Sir Frederick Madden has permitted copies to hang for public inspection upon 

the walls of the Manuscript Department in the British Museum. It was 

executed by Mr. Harrison, under whose auspices the splendid work on the 

Knights of the Garter was produced some years ago.

300 JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN'S LIST. 

A LITERARY AND PHILOLOGICAL CURIOSITY. 

Shortly will be published, in square 12mo, beautifully printed, price 3s. 6d., 

The Book of Vagabonds and Beggars, 

(LiBBB Vagaioetjm: : Der Better Orden), with a Vocabulary of their l,ajir 

gaago {Rotmdsche Sjyrach) ; edited, with Preface, by MARTIN LUTHER, 

in the year 1528. Now pibst Tkasslated ikio EifGusa, with Noibs, 

by JOHN CAMDEN HUTTEN. 

*»* This very singular work is comparatively unknown in this country. 

The first edition appears to have been printed at Augsburg, by Erhard Oglin, 

or Ocellus, as early as 1514—a small quarto of twelve leaves. It was frequently 

reprinted at other places in Germany ; and in 1528 there appeared an edition 

at Wittemberg, with a Preface by Martin Luther, from which the present 

translaiion lias been made. The work is divided into three parts or sections 

the first gives a special account of the several orders of the " Fraternity of 

Vagabonds ;" the second, sundry nniabUia relating to the difierent classes of 

beggars previously described ; and the third consists of a Canting Dio- 

TioNABr. It is singular that more than three centuries ago Martin Luther 

should have declared that the cant language of beggars comes from the 

Hebrews, and that in oar ovm time a similar statement should be made by 

Mayhew in his Lorulon Lalwur. Mayhew says that many of the most expressive 

street terms ia every day use by London and provincial vagabonds are derived 

from the Jew Fe)u:es. 

Now ready, fcap. 8vo, beautifully printed by Whittingham, price 28., 

Letters of the Marchioness Broglio Solari, 

one of the Maids of Honour to the Princess Lamballe, &c ; with a Sketch 

of her Life, and Recollections of Celebrated Characters (intended to have 

been sold at Ss.) 

The Marchioness Broglia Solari was the natural grand-daughter of Lord 

Hyde Clarendon, and consequently one of the collateral branches of the 

Queens Mary and Ann, and their grand-father, the great Chancellor of 

England. She played an Important part in the French Revolution; was the 

friend of Emperors and Princes ; was intimately acquainted with George the 

Fourth, Burke, Sheridan, Madame de Stael, the Duke of Wellington, Sir 

Robert Peel, Sir H. Davy, Paganini, &c., of most of whom she gives characteristic 

anecdotes. The Marchioness endured many troubles, was robbed of 

her fortune, and for some time obtained her living as an actress at the theatres 

of London and Dublin. This work was published by an intimate friend, and 

the entire impression (with the exception of a, few copies) passed into the 

hands of the family. It is believed that only 150 copies were printed. The 

book (by those who know of its existence) has always been considered as a 

suppressed work. 

^ 

[In preparation.] 

The History of English Popular Literature, 

WITH soMB Acconri op Cheap ob Chap-Books, Penny and Sixpenny 

Histories, Old Romances, Fairy Tales, Books of Wonder, Garlands 

and Penny Collections of Ballads, Books of Recipes and Instruction, 

Jest Books, &c.; also thb Histoet op thb Bisb op Cheap Sbblax 

LiTBEATUKB. 8V0. 

This very important work will range with Nisard'g History of French Poputar 

Literature, 2 vols., Paris, 1864. It will be illustrated with numerous exceedingly 

curious woodcuts, many by Faibholi, and several from the original 

blocks used by the old London Bridge and Aldennary Church Yard publishers. 

Printed by Tatlob & Gbbbkiitg, Graystoke-place, Fetter-lane, London, E.C.

i-i

A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words 1860

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