Tag: Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

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…..

To Bubble

This is defined as “to cheat”, terminology which seems relatively common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, then lost in the nineteenth century. Bubble is a made up word, so it doesn’t have any Greek or Roman origins, with the dictionaries saying that it’s a word named after the sound of a bubble bursting. Which, I guess, is where the cheating thing comes from, their trust was burst just as a bubble would be.

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…..

Bub

This is defined by the dictionary as “a strong beer”, and a couple of dictionaries say that the word derived from the sound of drinking. I’m not entirely convinced….. Sometimes the definition is a little different, such as “an alcoholic malt liquor”. There is a phrase that is “bub and grub”, but I think that derives from champagne, or a bubbly drink, rather than its archaic meaning. It is though perhaps where the second half of the word syllabub comes from.

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…..

Brewes or Browes

The dictionary defines this as “the fat scum from the pot in which salted beef is boiled”, which sounds quite delicious…. The word likely comes from the French ‘breu’ meaning broth, which is also where the word brewis comes from, which is bread soaked in broth or a stew.

On the subject of fat scum, here’s a recipe for cabbage soup from the 1930s…..

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…..

Bristol Milk

The dictionary defines this “a Spanish wine called sherry, much drunk at that place, particularly in the morning”. This term is first recorded back in 1634, and it’s also mentioned in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. This still exists in a derivative form as the branded drink of Bristol Cream, which is produced by John Harvey & Sons who had a base in Bristol. It’s thought to have become popular in Bristol as this was the main port that sherry was imported into and some mothers gave a little of it to their teething children.

Thinking about it, I’m not sure that I’ve ever tried Harvey’s Bristol Cream, which I’m not entirely sure is widely stocked in British pubs anyway.

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…..

Breeches Bible

The dictionary defines this as “an edition of the BIble printed in 1598, wherein it is said that Adam and Eve sewed figleaves together, and made themselves breeches”. The first edition of this bible actually appeared in 1560, with the appropriate passage in Genesis reading:

“Then the eies of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed figge tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches”.

Today, this instead reads:

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

Certainly a strange turn of phrase even for the late sixteenth century.

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…..

Break-Teeth Words

This is a humorous little phrase, meaning “hard words, difficult to pronounce”. Unfortunately, I can’t find much evidence in books or papers that this was ever in common usage, but I still like it…..

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…..

Bray

The dictionary defines this as “a vicar of Bray; one who frequently changes his principles, always siding with the strongest party: an allusion to a vicar of Bray, in Berkshire, commemorated in a well-known ballad for the pliability of his conscience”.

I hadn’t heard of this phrase, although a film was made with the title of ‘Vicar of Bray’ in the 1930s, telling the story. Like most of these things, there are differing tales from other the centuries, it likely refers to Simon Aleyn who served as the Canon of Windsor between 1559 and 1563. He managed to shift from being a Catholic to a Protestant and then back to a Catholic, before finally changing back to Protestantism. I can think of some politicians like him….

The text of the ballad is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vicar_of_Bray_(song).

 

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…..

Bran-faced

Not the most politically correct of terms, although to be fair, this dictionary is over 200 years old, this is defined as “freckled, he was Christened by a baker, he carries the bran in his face”. I can’t find much mention of this term being used in print, so I’m guessing that it wasn’t particularly widespread. Probably not one that needs to be brought back into usage…

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…..

Bragget

The dictionary defines this as “mead and ale sweetened with honey”, which seems to have been a common word at the time, derived from the medieval word ‘brag’ meaning malt. The drink was sweet, and often had spices added to it, with the word also being spelt ‘braggot’ or ‘braket’.

Chaucer used the word as early as the fourteenth century, but it has pretty much fallen out of use now.

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…..

Bowsprit

The dictionary defines this as “the nose, from its being the most projecting part of the human face, as the bowsprit is of a ship”.

Another one of those words which is slowly going out of use. However, the word ‘bow’ is still listed as another word for noise, so perhaps this is the same derivative.