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 Bilk

The dictionary defines this as “to cheat. Let us bilk the rattling cove; let us cheat the hackney coachman of his fare”. This is one of those words that has somehow survived in its original form, with bilking today being the term for driving off without paying for petrol. So, pretty much the same meaning as running off from a taxi without paying, although the word can be used to describe any act of fraud or attempt to withhold money.

The dictionary was published around 1800, so the word was more common then. It nearly fell out of usage during the early part of the nineteenth century, but seems to be a little more in vogue again now. Back in the seventeenth century, the word bilk mean to spoil an opponent’s score in a game, so the word is some derivative of that.

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…..

Betwattled

The dictionary defines this as “surprised, confounded, out of one’s senses” and I’ve no idea how this has fallen out of common usage as it’s quite a catchy word…. It was more commonly used in the west country and was in use from at least the sixteenth century, so it remained used for three centuries at least.

Although used relatively rarely in written English, it’s clear from this graph that it has remained in use to a small degree. There’s been a recent uptick in its usage as well, although Susie Dent did mention the word on Countdown, so that might have been the cause of that.

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…..

Bermudas

The dictionary defines this as criminal slang for “certain places in London, privileged against arrests, like the Mint in Southwark. These privileges are abolished”. Liberties were areas of the country where, in effect, a private landowner or, later on, a governmental organisation, had taken over from the Monarch. The Liberty of the Mint, in Southwark, was an historic quirk as it derived from a property used by King Henry VIII as a mint for coinage. A charter in 1550 issued by King Edward VI transferred the area to the City of London, but the mint was excluded.

The mint was ultimately closed and in the eighteenth century it was claimed that the small area was effectively a liberty, and thus exempt from any civil or criminal enforcement. This was a marvellous innovation for criminals, as they could live in this small area, free from anyone being able to pursue them for their criminality. Attempts were made to get rid of it in 1695, although the required Act of Parliament wasn’t passed until 1723.

Living in the area wouldn’t have been pleasant, since it was a very small area and most of the residents were criminals or those suffering financially. There was no employment in the area, so there was no way to earn money to pay debts off, with no chance to leave the narrowly defined area as otherwise debt collectors could seize the individual. The only freedom was on Sundays, when debtors and criminals couldn’t be stopped.

There’s not much evidence of the word ‘Bermudas’ being used in this sense, although there is some, usually in the form of the ‘Barmoodoes’ or the ‘Bermoothes’ spellings. But it’s a lovely reminder of the quirky nature of London’s history.

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…..

Bene Bowse

The definition of this is “good beer”, with ‘bene’ being slang for good and ‘bouse’ is an old word for alcohol. The word ‘bene’ is Latin, meaning good or the best, and it is where the words benign, benefit, benediction and beneficiary all come 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…..

Beggar Maker

A short and sweet definition from the dictionary, this is “a publican”. This doesn’t appear to have ever been a widely used phrase, although the sentiment behind it is rather more timeless.

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…..

Beau Trap

The dictionary defines this as “a loose stone in a pavement, under which water lodges, and on being trod upon, squirts it up, to the great damage of white stockings”. Since the word ‘beau’ was used to mean a foppish man, I assume this was a problem for men and women alike. I can’t imagine that the the phrase was ever much used, I can’t find much evidence of it being in common usage. It’s a nice phrase to use though, if anyone writes to their local council to complain about a damaged pavement, they should certainly include 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…..

Bayard of Ten Toes

The dictionary defines this as “to walk on foot, Bayard was a horse famous in old romances”. To be more precise, Bayard was a magical horse as it had the ability to change its size to suit the number of riders who mounted it. Bayard dates back to at least the twelfth century and Chaucer also made reference to it in the Canterbury Tales in 1286. This is another one of these phrases which seems to have been rarely used, but I like the Bayard of Ten Toes, it’s something which deserves 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…..

Bay Fever

Defined by the dictionary as “a term of ridicule applied to convicts who sham illness, to avoid being sent to Botany Bay”. I’m impressed by just how many people the British Government shipped out to Australia for breaking various laws, it totalled 162,000 convicts between 1788 and 1868. I’m moderately surprised that being able to fake an illness was a reason to avoid transportation, as ships at this time were riven with people who had cholera and typhoid.

Incidentally, the journey to Australia took four months and I can’t begin to imagine what a bloody hassle that must have been, sailing along with hundreds of seasick convicts who had cholera or typhoid. The rate of death on the transportation ships was usually relatively low, but in around 1800 the system changed to pay more to crews and masters who got convicts safely (well, alive) to Australia. Which means I imagine that they didn’t want ill convicts on board, and perhaps that’s why bay fever became a thing. Another nice phrase though.

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…..

Bawdy Basket

The dictionary defines this as “the twenty-third rank of canters, who carry pins, tape, ballads and obscene books to sell, but live mostly by stealing”. Canter seems to be a miscreant of various types, and the 23rd rank refers to a 1698 dictionary which tried to place the criminal fraternity in 27 different ranks, with the most important ranked highly.

The original meaning of a bawdry basket was someone (nearly always female) who carried a basket of clothes and then stole more clothing that they found, claiming to anyone asking that it was their own. Over time, this got corrupted in criminal slang to meaning someone carrying a basket of stolen goods.

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…..

Bartholomew Baby

Apparently, and going by the dictionary’s definition, this is “a person dressed up in a tawdry manner, like the dolls or babies sold at Bartholomew fair”. As a side issue, I’m still retelling people (I heard this on a guided walk, although I can’t remember which one) the origins of the word tawdry, which comes from St Audrey’s lace, which was often sold as a cheap copy and became unfashionable.

Anyway, I hadn’t heard of Bartholomew Fair, but this was a major annual event which was held in London from 1133 until 1855, with the authorities finding it had got debauched by inappropriate people and their behaviour, so they scrapped it. The phrase Bartholomew Baby is still in use occasionally today as a description of small wooden dolls, but the reference to people being dressed in a tawdry manner seems to have been lost.