The vulgar tongue.
From Project Gutenberg we have a slang dictionary from 1811. Along with many terms that still exist today, we find lovely phrases no longer in use. Delightful examples abound.
BANG UP: Quite the thing, hellish fine. Well done. Compleat. Dashing. In a handsome stile. "The swell's rattler and prads are bang up prime." (The gentleman sports an elegant carriage and fine horses.)
BREASTS: bubbies, heavers, kettledrums, bushel bubby, cat-heads, chicken-breasted, dairy, diddeys, dugs.
ROUND MOUTH: The fundament. "Brother round mouth, speaks. (He has let a fart.)
TESTICLES: ballocks, bawbles, nutmegs, tallywags, thingumbobs, twiddle-diddles, whirlygigs.
WHORE: star gazer. (my favorite of many)
Apparently you can buy this book from Amazon for $34.95 if you don't want to download it for free (it's long past any copyright issues).
1 comment:
The star gazer is a good one. I rather like
CRIBBAGE-FACED. Marked with the small pox, the pits bearing a kind of resemblance to the holes in a cribbage-board.
Very visual!
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