A DICTIONARY OF THE DRAMA

By W. Davenport Adams . Vol. I (A to G). Demy 8vo, cloth, 10s 6d net. London: Chatto & Windus , 111 St. Martin’s Lane, W.C. fOOTNOTES: “Swarms of vagabonds, whose eyes were so sharp as Lynx.”— Bullein’s Simples and Surgery , 1562. [1] Probably from the Gipsies, who were supposed to come from Germany into Spain. [2] From Roter , beggar, vagabond, and wälsch , foreign. See Dictionary of Gipsy language in Pott’s Zigeuner in Europa und Asien , vol. ii., Halle, 1844. The Italian cant is called Fourbesque, and the Portuguese Calao. See Francis que-Michel, Dictionnaire d’Argot , Paris, 1856. [ 3 ] Richardson’s Dictionary . [ 4 ] Description of England , prefixed to Holinshed’s Chronicle . [ 5 ] The word Slang, as will be seen in the chapter upon that subject, is purely a Gipsy term, although nowadays it refers to low or vulgar language of any kind, other than cant. Slang and Gibberish in the Gipsy language are synonymous; but, as English adoptions, have meanings very different from that given to them in their original. [ 6 ] “The vulgar tongue consists of two parts; the first is the Cant language; the second, those burlesque phrases, quaint allusions, and nicknames for persons, things, and places, which, from long uninterrupted usage, are made cla ical by prescription.”—Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue , 1st edition, 1785. [ 7 ] “Outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians.”—1530. [ 8 ] Jabber may be, after all, only another form of GABBER , GAB , very common in Old English, from the Anglo-Saxon , Gæbban . [ 9 ] This very proverb was mentioned by a young Gipsy to Crabb, some years ago.— Gipsies’ Advocate , p. 14. [ 10 ] Gipsies in Spain , vol. i. p. 18. [ 11 ] Shaks. Henry IV. , part ii. act ii. scene 4. [ 12 ] It is but fair to imagine that cheat ultimately became synonymous with “fraud,” when we remember that it was one of the most common words of the greatest cla of impostors in the country. [ 13 ] We are aware that more than one eminent philologist states that the origin of “queer” is seen in the German quer , crooked,—hence strange and abnormal. While agreeing with this etymology, we have reason to believe that the word was first used in this country in a Cant sense. [ 14 ] Booget properly signifies a leathern wallet, and is probably derived from the low Latin , BULGA . A tinker’s budget is from the same source. [ 15 ] Which, freely translated into modern Slang, might read—especially to those who know the manners and customs of the Dialites—thus: “Good girls, go out, and look about, Good girls, go out and see; For every clout is up the spout, The bloke’s gone on the spree.” [ 16 ] Who wrote about the year 1610. [ 17 ] Gipsies in Spain , vol. i. p. 18. Borrow further commits himself by remarking that “Head’s Vocabulary has always been accepted as the speech of the English Gipsies.” Nothing of the kind. Head profe ed to have lived with the Gipsies, but in reality filched his words from Decker and Brome. [ 18 ] The modern meanings of a few of the old Cant words are given within brackets. [ 19 ] This is a curious volume, and is worth from one to two guineas. The Canting Dictionary was afterwards reprinted, word for word, with the title of The Scoundrel’s Dictionary , in 1751. It was originally published, without date, about the year 1710, by B. E., under the title of A Dictionary of the Canting Crew . [ 20 ] Bacchus and Venus. —1737. [ 21 ] London Labour and the London Poor. [ 22 ] Mayhew (vol. i. p. 217) speaks of a low lodging-house “in which there were at one time five university men, three surgeons, and several sorts of broken-down clerks.” But old Harman’s saying, that “a wylde Roge is he that is borne a roge,” will perhaps explain this seeming anomaly. There is, whatever may be the reason, no disputing the truth of this latter statement, as there is not, we venture to say, a common lodging-house in London without broken-down gentlemen, who have been gentlemen very often far beyond the conventional application of the term to any one with a good coat on his back and money in his pocket. [ 23 ] Mr. Rawlinson’s Report to the General Board of Health, Parish of Havant, Hampshire . [ 24 ] Vol. v. p. 210. [ 25 ] Vol. i. pp. 218 and 247. [ 26 ] See Dictionary. ( Pal , Patterer , Work ) [ 27 ] Sometimes, as appears from the following, the names of persons and houses are written instead. “In almost every one of the padding-kens, or low lodging-houses in the country, there is a list of walks pasted up over the kitchen mantelpiece. Now at St. Albans, for instance, at the ——, and at other places, there is a paper stuck up in each of the kitchens. This paper is headed, ‘Walks out of this town’ and underneath it is set down the names of the villages in the neighbourhood at which a beggar may call when out on his walk, and they are so arranged as to allow the cadger to make a round of about six miles each day, and return the same night. In many of these papers there are sometimes twenty walks set down. No villages that are in any way ‘gammy’ [bad] are ever mentioned in these papers, and the cadger, if he feels inclined to stop for a few days in the town, will be told by the lodging-house keeper, or the other cadgers that he may meet there, what gentlemen’s seats or private houses are of any account on the walk that he means to take. The names of the good houses are not set down in the paper, for fear of the police.”— Mayhew , vol. i. p. 418. [This busine is also much altered in consequence of the increase in the surveillance of the kens, an increase which, though nominally for sanitary purposes, has a strong moral effect. Besides this, Mr. Mayhew’s informants seem to have po e ed a fair share of that romance which is inherent among vagabonds.— Ed. ] [ 28 ] See Dictionary. ( Screever , Traveller ) [ 29 ] Mr. Rawlinson’s Report to the General Board of Health, Parish of Havant, Hampshire . [ 30 ] Snowden’s Magistrate’s A istant , 1852, p. 444. [ 31 ] An outgrowth of this latter peculiarity consisted in anyone with a high or prominent nose being, a few years back, called by the street boys “Duke.” [ 32 ] This term, with a singular literal downrightne , which would be remarkable in any other people than the French, is translated by them as the sect of Trembleurs . [ 33 ] Swift alludes to this term in his Art of Polite Conversation , p. 14, 1738. [ 34 ] See Notes and Queries , vol. i. p. 185. 1850. [ 35 ] He afterwards kept a tavern at Wapping, mentioned by Pope in the Dunciad . [ 36 ] Sportsman’s Dictionary , 1825, p. 15. [ 37 ] This introduction was written in 1859, before the new edition of Worcester , and Nuttall’s recent work, were published. [ 38 ] Introduction to Bee’s Sportsman’s Dictionary , 1825. [ 39 ] The Gipsies use the word Slang as the Anglican synonym for Romany, the Continental (or rather Spanish) term for the Cingari or Gipsy tongue. Crabb, who wrote the Gipsies’ Advocate in 1831, thus mentions the word:—“This language [Gipsy] called by themselves Slang, or Gibberish, invented, as they think, by their forefathers for secret purposes, is not merely the language of one or a few of these wandering tribes, which are found in the European nations, but is adopted by the vast numbers who inhabit the earth.” [ 40 ] The word Slang a umed various meanings amongst costermongers, beggars, and vagabonds of all orders. It was, and is still, used to expre “cheating by false weights,” “a raree show,” “retiring by a back door,” “a watch-chain,” their “secret language,” . [ 41 ] North, in his Examen , p. 574, says, “I may note that the rabble first changed their title, and were called the “mob” in the a emblies of this [Green Ribbon] club. It was their beasts of burden, and called first mobile vulgus , but fell naturally into the contraction of one syllable, and ever since is become proper English.” In the same work, p. 231, the disgraceful origin of SHAM is given. [ 42 ] I am afraid my predece or was of a somewhat satirical turn of mind, or else he had peculiar notions of melody.— Ed. [ 43 ] This latter is, as I take it, an error, as the sign was originally intended to represent the king’s head and cro guns, and may still be seen in parts of the country.— Ed. [ 44 ] Savez-vous cel a?—[I fancy this is from the Spanish sabe . The word is in great use in the Pacific States of America, and is obtained through constant intercourse with the original settlers.— Ed. ] [ 45 ] At page 24 of a curious old Civil War tract, entitled, The Oxonian Antippodes , by I. B., Gent., 1644, the town is called Brummidgham, and this was the general rendering in the printed literature of the seventeenth century.—[This must have been the first known step towards the present vulgar style of spelling, for properly the word is Bromwich-ham, which has been corrupted into Brummagem, a term used to expre worthle or inferior goods, from the spurious jewellery, plate, ., manufactured there expre ly for “duffers.”— Ed. ] [ 46 ] This was more especially an amusement with medical students, after the modern Mohocks had discarded it. The students are now a comparatively mild and quiet race, with very little of the style of a generation ago about them. [ 47 ] Edinburgh Review , October, 1853. [ 48 ] A term derived from the Record newspaper, the exponent of this singular section of the Low, or so-called Evangelical Church. [ 49 ] A preacher is said, in this phraseology, to be “owned” when he makes many converts, and his converts are called his “seals.” This is Cant in its most objectionable form. [ 50 ] “Swaddler” is also a phrase by which the low Irish Roman Catholics denominate those of their body who in winter become Protestants, pro tem. , for the sake of the blankets, coals, ., given by proselytizing Protestants. It is hard to say which are the worse, those who refuse to give unle the objects of their charity become converted, or those who sham conversion to save themselves from starving, or the tender mercies of the relieving officer. I am much afraid my sympathies are with the “swaddlers,” who are also called “soupers.”— Ed. [ 51 ] “All our newspapers contain more or le colloquial words; in fact, there seems no other way of expre ing certain ideas connected with pa ing events of every-day life with the requisite force and piquancy. In the English newspapers the same thing is observable, and certain of them contain more of the cla denominated Slang words than our own.”— Bartlett’s American isms , p. 10, edit. 1859. [ 52 ] When this appeared, “all serene” was one of those street phrases which periodically spring up, have their rage, and depart as suddenly as they come into popularity. These sayings are generally of a most idiotic nature, as their latest specimens, “I’ll warm yer,” “All serene,” and “I’ll ’ave your hi”—used without any premonitory notice or regard to context, and screeched out at the top of the voice—will testify. I suppose we shall soon have another of these “ebullitions of popular feeling.”— Ed. [ 53 ] The terms “leader” and “article” can scarcely be called Slang, yet it would be desirable to know upon what authority they were first employed in their present peculiar sense. [ 54 ] The Morning Herald was called “Mrs. Harris,” because it was said that no one ever saw it, a peculiarity which, in common with its general disregard for veracity, made it uncommonly like “Mrs. Gamp’s” invisible friend as portrayed by Dickens. But the Herald has long since departed this life, and with it has gone the title of “Mrs. Gamp,” as applied to the Standard , which is, though, as impulsive and Conservative as ever.— Ed. [ 55 ] This is rhyming slang, and is corrupted into “lord” only. “Touch-me,” a common term for a shilling, is also derived from the same source, it being short for “touch-me-on-the-nob,” which is rhyming slang for “bob” or shilling. [ 56 ] Since the first edition of this work a great alteration has taken place in this respect. Though topical ballads are now often sung, the singers confine themselves to low neighbourhoods, and as soon as a policeman approaches, if ever he does, they make themselves scarce. The practice is singular. One man gets as far through a line as he can, and when his voice cracks his companion takes up. For this reason the busine is as a rule conducted by a man and woman, or sometimes by a woman and child. The writing of these ditties is generally work of a character for which even 7 s. 6 d. would be a high rate of pay.— Ed. [ 57 ] Eur asian is not a child of mixed race, but one born of European parents in an Asiatic clime. A similar error exists with regard to the word creole, which is generally supposed to mean a man or woman in whom white and black strains are mixed. I need not say how wrong this is, but the vulgar error is none the le current.— Ed. [ 58 ] There is something so extremely humorous and far-fetched about this explanation, that though it is utterly unworthy of its place in a dictionary, I, finding it there, have not the heart to cut it out.— Ed. [ 59 ] Of course by those who don’t know the scientific way used in “canine exhibitions” and dog-fights—of biting their tails till they turn round to bite the biter.— Ed. [ 60 ] This was written in 1858. [ 61 ] The famous printers and publishers of sheet songs and last dying speeches thirty years ago. [ 62 ] The writer, a street chaunter of ballads and last dying speeches, alludes in his letter to two celebrated criminals—Thos. Drory, the murderer of Jael Denny, and Sarah Chesham, who poisoned her husband, accounts of whose trials and “horrid deeds” he had been selling. Here is a Glo ary of the cant words:— Thick un , a sovereign. Dowry of Parny , a lot of rain. Stumped , bankrupt. Bo man , a farmer. ⁂ Drory was a farmer. Patter , trial. Tops , last dying speeches. Dies , ib. Croaks , ib. Burick , a woman. Topped , hung. Sturaban , a prison. James , a sovereign. Clye , a pocket. Carser , a house or residence. Speel on the Drum , to be off to the country. All Square , all right, or quite well. [ 63 ] transcriber’s Note An advertisement for dictionaries has been moved from the beginning of the text to the end. Footnote 27 (“See Dictionary”) is referred to three times; links to the three entries concerned have been added to the text. Footnote 29 (“See Dictionary”) is referred to twice; links to the two entries concerned have been added to the text. The following are used inconsistently in the text: banknote and bank-note battles and battells big-bird and big bird blackguard and black-guard boat race and boat-race Boozing ken and Boozing-Ken bow-Catcher and bow catcher brother-chip and brother-chip Bubble-and-Squeak and Bubble and Squeak chamberpot and chamber-pot cherry-colour and cherry colour chuck up and chuck-up coal heaver and coal-heaver cockshy and cock-shy cocoanuts and cocoa-nuts comb cut and comb-cut coon and ’coon corner men and corner-men crab shells and crab shells cutpurse and cut-purse daylights and day-light dead-heat and dead heat dolly shop and dolly-shop dunnyken and dunna-ken everyday and every-day fagot and faggot fawney bouncing and fawney-bouncing fyebuck and fye-buck halfpence and half-pence horse chaunter and horse-chaunter housebreaking and house-breaking kin-the-lamb and kin the lamb knobstick and knob-stick lovelock and love-lock M. B. and M.B. M. T. and M.T. Merry Dun of Dover and merry dun of Dover mountain pecker and mountain-pecker necktie and neck-tie newcomers and new-comers now-a-days and nowadays outdoor and out-door overbearing and over-bearing overnight and over-night overreach and over-reach P. P. and P.P. parney and parny percentages and per-centages pillbox and pill-box playhouse and play-house purse proud and purse-proud racehorse and race-horse randem and random reach me downs and reach-me-downs ring dropping and ring-dropping schofel and schoful schoolboys and school-boys seaport and sea-port secondhand and second-hand signpost and sign-post Soft-soap and soft soap speechmaking and speech-making turncoat and turn-coat turnout and turn-out W. P. and W.P. water-bewitched and water bewitched water closet and water-closet wideawake and wide-awake The following errors in the printed text have been corrected: advertisement “W.,” changed to “W.” advertisement “A to G)” changed to “(A to G)” p. 15 “Bcck” changed to “Beck” p. 17 “coined money” changed to “coined money.” p. 29 “‘cribs’’” changed to “‘cribs’”” p. 41 “ Tam O’ Shanter .”” changed to “ Tam O’ Shanter .” p. 68 “on’t—” changed to “on’t”—” p. 74 “appearance” changed to “appearance.” p. 74 “I Cor.” changed to “1 Cor.” p. 82 “Dr” changed to “Dr.” p. 83 “under-raduates” changed to “under-graduates” p. 88 “BLUHEN” changed to “BLÜHEN” p. 89 “ἄσπρόν” changed to “ἄσπρον” p. 90 “the new police” changed to “the new police.” p. 91 “belong to you” changed to “belong to you.” p. 94 “Spit-curl,”” changed to “Spit-curl,” p. 97 “Rothwalsch” changed to “Rothwälsch” p. 97 “good fellow;” changed to “good fellow;”” p. 98 “at races” changed to “at races.” p. 101 “large thick,” changed to “large, thick,” p. 106 “tumble up,” changed to “tumble up” p. 107 “contruction” changed to “contraction” p. 110 “ CASER ” changed to “ Caser ” p. 111 “ny temporary” changed to “any temporary” p. 114 “pay.—ED” changed to “pay.—ED.” p. 115 “CHEESE your barrikin,”” changed to ““CHEESE your barrikin,”” p. 116 “Derivation obvious” changed to “Derivation obvious.” p. 118 “and waistcoat” changed to “and waistcoat.” p. 120 “first-rate” changed to “first-rate.” p. 128 “Κορινθίαζ εσθαι” changed to “Κορινθιάζεσθαι” p. 135 “Very often” changed to ““Very often” p. 136 “Culloden;*” changed to “Culloden;” p. 137 “CUT ONE’S” CHANGED TO ““CUT ONE’S” p. 139 “interrupted Julian” changed to “interrupted Julian,” P. 141 “SO LOOK OUT”” CHANGED TO “SO LOOK OUT.”” P. 152 “MEDIOCITY” CHANGED TO “MEDIOCRITY” P. 161 “O FOURTEEN” CHANGED TO “OF FOURTEEN” P. 168 ““OR IN BAD” CHANGED TO “OR “IN BAD” P. 171 “FULLY committed for trial.” changed to “FULLY committed for trial.”” p. 176 “crush hat” changed to “crush hat.” p. 178 “by schoolboys” changed to “by schoolboys.” p. 188 “unthinking” changed to “unthinking.” p. 189 “ Harry-soph ” changed to “ Harry-soph ,” p. 197 “Umh!” changed to ““Umh!” p. 209 “ Gloucestershire .” changed to “ Gloucestershire ,” p. 217 “of the door,’” changed to “of the door,”” p. 219 “nothing five” changed to “nothing: five” p. 224 “what a MEASLEY” changed to ““what a MEASLEY” p. 229 “bad MOUNT.” changed to “bad MOUNT.”” p. 232 “ Neptune’s Triumph , whch” changed to “ Neptune’s Triumph , which” p. 233 “Shakspear ehas” changed to “Shakspeare has” p. 234 “VAMOS.”” changed to “VAMOS.” p. 236 ““Your NIBS,” yourself.”” changed to ““Your NIBS,” yourself.” p. 237 “ Nix my dolly once” changed to “ Nix my dolly , once” p. 243 “ i.e. , you” changed to “ i.e. , “you” p. 247 “to the PARTY?”” changed to “to the PARTY?” p. 247 “ Stephano. ” changed to ““ Stephano. ” p. 250 “drive awa;” changed to “drive away;” p. 251 “Nor yet a single” changed to ““Nor yet a single” p. 253 “dérobé”).” changed to “dérobé)”.” p. 253 “English word” changed to “English word.” p. 254 “its purity?” changed to “its purity?”” p. 254 “trrdesman” changed to “tradesman” p. 256 “£100,0000,” changed to “£100,000,” p. 258 “ Pops ,pocket-pistols.” changed to “ Pops, pocket-pistols.” p. 264 “THICK UN a” changed to “THICK UN, a” p. 265 “for the account”” changed to “for the account.”” p. 275 “in unproductive” changed to “an unproductive” p. 285 “improvemennts” changed to “improvements” p. 295 “voilently” changed to “violently” p. 296 “a good beating,” changed to “a good beating.” p. 297 “Sluieing” changed to “Sluicing” p. 297 “tip-top nation.” changed to “tip-top nation.”” p. 299 “SNIDE ’UN.”” changed to “SNIDE ’UN.” p. 304 “a person, to cease” changed to “a person,” to cease” p. 305 “ TEA-SPOON ,” changed to “ TEA-SPOON ;” p. 306 “prisoners, when,” changed to “prisoners, when” p. 307 “ Stab-rag ” changed to “ Stab-rag ,” p. 316 “first six months” changed to “first six months;” p. 321 “that term” changed to “that term.” p. 322 “upon TICKET.” changed to “upon TICKET.”” p. 331 “TWIG,’” changed to “TWIG,”” p. 334 “can you” changed to ““can you” p. 334 “Romany!” changed to “Romany?” p. 338 “WORRIT, ro” changed to “or WORRIT,” p. 334 “igin hougour” changed to “igin agan hougour” p. 340 “WHITE WINE.”” changed to “WHITE WINE.’”” p. 349 “end with two vowels” changed to “end with two consonants” p. 354 “ Exis yanneps xpence.” changed to “ Exis yanneps , sixpence.” p. 354 “an apple” changed to “an apple.” p. 368 “of beer” changed to “of beer.” p. 369 “centre slang, then,” changed to “Centre slang, then,” p. 372 “ London , 1809” changed to “ London , 1809.” p. 374 “part of the work” changed to “part of the work.” p. 374 “attemp” changed to “attempts.” p. 375 “1858” changed to “1858.” p. 376 “1797” changed to “1797.” p. 378 “1859” changed to “1859.” p. 379 “Wiemarisches” changed to “Weimarisches” p. 379 “10te” changed to “10ter” Inconsistent use of small capitals and italics has been left as printed. On p. 76, “will about win” has been left as printed. On p. 121, “ See COAL” in the entry for “Coal” has been left as printed. On p. 195, “the blue jackets wont” has been left as printed. On p. 379, “Wirtemberg” has been left as printed. The following were not clearly printed and are conjectural: Footnote to p. 53 “most objectionable” p. 90 full stop in “Bethnal Green Museum.” p. 94 the letter p in “person who steals” p. 94 bracketed text in “swindler[, or a] lie” p. 114 bracketed text in “Ch[aw] over” p. 158 comma in “unfeminine accomplishment,” p. 164 letter n and comma in “ Flim-flamn ,” p. 181 bracketed text in “[tie]d.— Sea. ” p. 197 last two digits in “1632.” p. 207 last two digits in “1820.” p. 211 bracketed text in “so[lic]ited” p. 243 bracketed text in “descripti[on,]” p. 248 semi-colon in “ POIX );” p. 262 “to” in “stratagem to excite” p. 295 comma in “into a man,” p. 337 comma in “ WELSHER ,” There are a number of references to non-existent entries: the entry for “Briefs” refers to “Reflectors”; the entry for “Bub” refers to “Bibe” the entry for “Harum-scarum” refers to “Tandem”; the entry for “Lucky” refers to “Strike”; the entry for “Man in the moon” refers to “Election Inquiries”; the entry for “Random” refers to “Tandem”; the entry for “Whiddle” refers to “Wheedle”. In some cases entries of that name exist, but appear to be unrelated: the entry for “Buz” refers to “Snooks” and “Walker”; the entry for “Random” refers to “Sudden Death”. The following po ible error has been left as printed: p. 254 “an ingenious candle-snuffers”