Synopses & Reviews
Its a shame that so many very apt words fall out of common use over time, like “blobber-lippd,” which means having lips that are very thick, hanging down, or turning over; and “chounter”, which is to talk pertly, and sometimes angrily. Both words can be found in The First English Dictionary of Slang, originally published in 1699 as A New Dictionary of Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew by B. E. Gentleman. Though a number of early texts, beginning in the sixteenth century, codified forms of cant—the slang language of the criminal underworld—in word lists which appeared as appendices or parts of larger volumes, the dictionary of 1699 was the first work dedicated to slang words and their meanings. It aimed to educate the more polite classes in the language and, consequently, the methods of thieves and vagabonds, protecting the innocent from cant speakers and their activities.
This dictionary is also the first that attempts to show the overlap and integration between canting words and common slang words. Refusing to distinguish between criminal vocabulary and the more ordinary everyday English of the period, it sets canting words side by side with terms used in domestic culture and those used by sailors and laborers. With such a democratic attitude toward words, this text is genuinely a modern dictionary, as well as the first attempt by dictionary makers to catalog the ever-changing world of English slang.
Reproduced here with an introduction by John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, describing the history and culture of canting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the evolution of English slang, this is a fascinating volume for all who marvel at words and may wish to reclaim a few—say, to dabble in the parlance of a seventeenth-century sailor one day and that of a vagabond the next.
Review
and#8220;Nobody who appreciates the history and color of the English language can fail to enjoy the Bodleian Libraryand#8217;s new facsimile edition of Wareand#8217;s masterpiece.and#8221;
Review
“Gent began the literate taste for slang that continues today.”
Review
“A brilliant Christmas stocking-filler for any lover of language or social history.”
Review
“Opening it at random, one is plunged back into late 17th-century London, specifically the criminal underworld of narrow streets, ale-houses, and brothels, of sheds crammed with stolen goods, stinking debtors prisons, and public hangings.”
Review
“The continuing value of this compilation is not just its historical interest, but the insight that it gives into the urban life of the period.”
Review
Thanks to the unearthing of a 17th-century text—originally printed as ‘A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew and newly titled
The First English Dictionary of Slang, 1699—we can now learn the sorts of wordsounds heard on the streets of London by the likes of John Milton, Andrew Marvell and probably even Shakespeare himself. . . . Written anonymously by a mysterious ‘B.E. Gent, the book is not a dictionary in the modern sense but an amalgam of words centered on ‘cant—the prurient, rude and witty. But it includes many non-canting words. Above all, "The First English Dictionary of Slang" gives us a sense of how rich a mine the English language is and how ingenious its users. Slang is eternal.”
Review
"A fantastically browseable book. Almost every page turns up quaint curiosities that didn't become standard (Dimber-cove, "a pretty fellow"; Mulligrubs, "a Counterfeit Fit of the Sullens"); phrase-bookish constructions such as Fib the Cove's quarrons in the Rum-pad, for the Lour in his Bung ("Beat the Man in the High-way lustily for the Money in his Purse"); humorous entries (e.g., Ambidexter, "a Lawyer that takes Fees of a Plaintiff and Defendant at once"); entries that highlight differences in worldview and knowledge (Otter, "an Amphibious Creature, betwixt a Beast and a Fish, a great destroyer of Fish, affording much sport in Hunting") all alongside words we now consider everyday: defunct, ("dead and gone"), elbow-gease ("a derisory Term for Sweat"), Hick ("a silly Country Fellow").--Boston Globe
Review
“Everyone needs a good dictionary in the loo, and this could be it.”
Review
“English gentility was fascinated by the crude, mysterious vocabulary of the ‘canting crew.” The interest was voyeuristic, to be sure, but also practical: knowing what the ruffians were talking about might help you avoid getting your pocket picked if you ventured into the wrong neighborhood. Along with a slew of terms for loose women and strong drink, B. E.’s dictionary also provides a rich array of epithets for fools and simpletons (presumably referring to the folks who were easy marks for pickpocketing).”
Synopsis
Acutely aware of the changes affecting English at the end of the Victorian era, writer and journalist J. Redding Ware set out to record words and turns of phrase from all walks of life, from the curses in common use by sailors to the rhyming slang of the street and the jargon of the theater dandies. In doing so, he extended the lifespan of words like andldquo;air-hole,andrdquo; andldquo;lally-gagging,andrdquo; and andldquo;bow-wow mutton.andrdquo;
First published in 1909 and reproduced here with a new introduction by Oxford English Dictionary editor John Simpson, Wareandrsquo;s Victorian Dictionary of Slang and Phrase reflects the rich history of unofficial English. Many of the expressions are obsolete; one is not likely to have the misfortune of encountering a andldquo;parlour jumper.andrdquo; Order a andldquo;shant of bivvyandrdquo; at the pub and youandrsquo;ll be met with a blank stare. But some of the entries reveal the origins of expressions still in use today, such as calling someone a andldquo;bad eggandrdquo; to indicate that they are dishonest or of ill-repute. While showing the significant influence of American English on Victorian slang, the Dictionary also demonstrates how impressively innovative its speakers were.
A treasure trove of everyday language of the nineteenth century, this book has much to offer in terms of insight into the intriguing history of English and will be of interest to anyone with a passion for words.
About the Author
J. Redding Ware (1832andndash;1909) was a journalist and lexicographer. Under the pseudonym Andrew Forrester, he was also an author of detective stories, including
The Private Detective,Revelations of the Private Detective, and
The Female Detective, the last published by the British Library.
Table of Contents
Introduction
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; John Simpson
Facsimile ofand#160;James Redding Ware's Passing English of the Victorian Era: A Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang, and Phrase
and#160;and#160;and#160; Preface
and#160;and#160;and#160; Abbreviations Used
and#160;and#160;and#160; Passing English