The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the Coronavirus crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored…..
Avoir du Pois Lay
This is a pretty niche phrase, meaning “the stealing of brass weights off the counter of shops”. It’s so niche, it’s another phrase that must have been incredibly localised, as I can’t find any mention of this term in old newspapers or books, nor any logic to how it evolved. But I like that there’s a specific phrase for it, perhaps there should be one for stealing beer glasses from pubs…..