Fed up with over-used abuse? The English language has many delicious insults in its lexicon.
In a previous post, I mentioned how the old playground chant of ‘telltale tit’, is an effective barb. I then came across the wonderful ‘1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue’ in an Oxfam bookshop.
Inevitably, there are many that are of their time and not printable now. Having said that, versions of maxims that I would not include here have spilled easily from the mouths of populist politicians since 2016.
Otherwise, here are 50 lost gems. Apply as desired in the context of our times...
Addle pate. An inconsiderate foolish fellow.
Affidavit Men. Knights of the post, or false witnesses, said to attend Westminster Hall, and other courts of justice, ready to swear any thing for hire.
Beetle-browed. One having thick projecting eyebrows.
Betty Martin. “That’s my eye, Betty Martin”; an answer to any one that attempts to impose or humbug.
Bone box. The mouth. “Shut your bone box.”
Blind Cupid. The backside.
Cat in Pan. To change sides or parties; supposed originally to have been to turn cate or cake in pan.
Convenient. A mistress.
Cooler. “Kiss my cooler. Kiss my arse.” It is principally used to signify a woman’s posteriors. [sic]
Country work. Said of any work that advances slowly.
Court holy water. Fair speeches and promises without performance.
Dangler. One who follows women in general, without any particular attachment.
Dog in a doublet. A daring, resolute fellow.
Gamon. To humbug. To deceive. To tell lies. ‘How finely the knowing old fellow humbugged the fool.’
Grumbletonian. A discontented person; one who is always railing at the times or ministry.
Fat cull. A rich fellow.
Horn mad. A person said to be extremely jealous of his wife.
Hummer. A great lie
Jingle brains. A wild, thoughtless, rattling fellow.
Juniper Lecture. A round scolding bout.
Ottomised. To be dissected. You’ll be scragged, ottomised, and grin in a glass case: you’ll be hanged, anatomised, and your skeleton kept in a glass case at Surgeons’ Hall.
Ox house. He must go through the ox house to bed; a saying of an old fellow who marries a young girl.
Packet. A false report.
Peal. To ring a peal in a man’s ears; to scold at him.
Pigeon. A weak silly fellow, easily imposed on. To pigeon: to cheat.
Purse proud. One that is vain of his riches.
Queen Dick. “That happened in the reign of Queen Dick”… i.e. never.
Quidnunc. A politician. Named after a character in a farce called The Upholsterer.
Red Rag. The tongue. Shut your potato trap, and give your red rag a holiday. i.e shut your mouth, and let your tongue rest.
Romeville. London.
Round mouth. The fundament. Brother round mouth speaks: he has let out a fart.
Rum Ned. A very rich silly fellow.
Sly boots. A cunning fellow, under the mask of simplicity.
Son of prattlement. A lawyer.
Stubble it. Hold your tongue.
Sugar stick. The virile member.
Surveyor of the Highways. A reeling drunk.
Tantadlin Tart. Human excrement.
Taradiddle. A fib, or falsity.
To fight a crib. To make a sham fight.
To nose. To bully.
Trickum lugis. A quirk or quibble in the law.
To twit. To reproach a person, or remind him of favours conferred.
Tuft Hunter. An anniversary parasite, one who courts the acquaintance of nobility, whose caps are adorned with a gold tuft.
Understrapper. An inferior in any office, or department.
Unicorn. A coach drawn by three horses.
Whereas. To become a bankrupt: the notice given that a commission of bankruptcy is issued out against any trader, always beginning with the word ‘whereas’. “He will soon march in the rear of a whereas.”
Whiddler. An informer, or one that betrays the secrets of the gang.
Whirlygigs. Testicles.
Word grubbers. Verbal critics, and also persons who use hard words in common discourse.
Two hundred and eighteen years after the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was published, I can't help feeling that we are still being governed by quidnuncs. Mere hummers, whiddlers and taradiddlers courting holy water...
*The cartoons of George III and the lawyer are from the archive of the British Library who have released hundreds of thousands of images that bloggers and others can use free of charge. Find them all at: www.flickr.com