Victorian Slang Part Four · 3:13pm Oct 1st, 2020
Victorian Slang Part Four
Did you know that there were many other slang words used in the Victorian era? These are some more slang words that were used.
1. PARISH PICK-AXE
A prominent nose.
2. PODSNAPPERY
This term, Forrester writers, describes a person with a "wilful determination to ignore the objectionable or inconvenient, at the same time assuming airs of superior virtue and noble resignation.”
3. POKED UP
Embarrassed.
4. POWDERING HAIR
An 18th century tavern term that means "getting intoxicated.”
5. RAIN NAPPER
An umbrella.
6. SAUCE-BOX
The mouth.
7. SHAKE A FLANNIN
Why say you're going to fight when you could say you're going to shake a flannin instead?
8. SHOOT INTO THE BROWN
To fail. According to Forrester, "The phrase takes its rise from rifle practice, where the queer shot misses the black and white target altogether, and shoots into the brown i.e., the earth butt."
9. SKILAMALINK
Secret, shady, doubtful.
10. SMOTHERING A PARROT
Drinking a glass of absinthe neat; named for the green color of the booze.
11. SUGGESTIONIZE
A legal term from 1889 meaning "to prompt.”
12. TAKE THE EGG
To win.
13. UMBLE-CUM-STUMBLE
According to Forrester, this low class phrase means "thoroughly understood."
14. WHOOPERUPS
A term meaning "inferior, noisy singers" that could be used liberally today during karaoke sessions.
You can also read more about this by clicking this article here: https://theweek.com/articles/567412/56-delightful-victorian-slang-terms-should-using
"Podsnappery," like "faginy," is a term that comes from a Charles Dickens character: Mr. Podsnap in Our Mutual Friend.
Another term based on Dickens, though it may not be Victorian in origin, is "Pickwickian Syndrome." It's a reference to the character of Jos, the fat boy in The Pickwick Papers who kept falling asleep at odd moments.
(And who I think was also the model for Pugsley Addams, but that's just a hunch)
5368432 Those are great ones as well. Thank you for sharing them. :)
5368591
And of course "Malapropism" comes from Mrs. Malaprop, who sounds like she ought to be a Dickens character but was actually created by playwright William Sheridan for his comedy The Rivals in 1775.
As a kid I watched a forgettable mid-60's Disney live-action comedy called The Boatniks with my dad. He laughed and laughed at this one lady who kept using the wrong word. "What's so funny?" I asked. "She's Mrs. Malaprop!" he exclaimed, and then explained who that was.
Proving anything can be an educational film if you watch it in the right company.
MOAR WORDS THAT WERE ONCE LITERARY CHARACTERS
5368816 Very interesting information! Thank you for the share.