Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 230

The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

Numms

This is a practical idea, with the word being defined by Grose as “a sham collar, to be worn over a dirty shirt”. The etymology of the word is unknown, although it was in use from at least the late eighteenth century.