The slang dictionary: Etymological, historical and anecdotal

About this book

This work is a scholarly reference that catalogues the ever‑shifting vocabulary of English slang, cant and vulgar speech as it existed in the late‑Victorian era. The editor begins by acknowledging the rapid changes that have occurred since the first edition appeared fifteen years earlier, and he explains his aim to correct earlier errors and add fresh meanings. The introductory pages set out the scope of the dictionary, modern slang, with historical labels such as “Ancient,” “Old,” or “Old Cant” indicating usage before the reigns of Elizabeth I or Charles II, and invite readers to submit unnoticed words and etymologies. The contents list reveals a comprehensive treatment, from a history of cant and a survey of its secret symbols to separate glossaries of back slang, rhyming slang and centre slang, followed by a bibliography.

The tone is that of a meticulous Victorian scholar, earnest and slightly self‑effacing, who blends factual exposition with occasional anecdote. Its prose is dense but clear, reflecting the period’s penchant for exhaustive detail and moral observation. Readers with an interest in historical linguistics, Victorian social history, or the colorful undercurrents of 19th‑century London life will find it rewarding, as will philologists and literary enthusiasts who enjoy tracing the origins of expressions that once rang through taverns, courts and Parliament alike.

Opening lines

Slang, like everything else, changes much in the course of time; and though but fifteen years have elapsed since this Dictionary was first introduced to the public, alterations have since then been many and frequent in the subject of which it treats. The first issue of a work of this kind is, too, ever beset with difficulties, and the compiler was always aware that, though under the circumstances of its production the book was an undoubted success, it necessarily lacked many of the elements which would make that success lasting, and cause the “Slang Dictionary” to be regarded as an authority and a work of reference not merely among the uneducated, but among people of cultivated tastes and inquiring minds. …

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