Impress your friends with your arcane knowledge of street talk! This fun and funky slang book was written in 1785.

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Product Description

This curious text is not just a compilation or history--it is fun!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2099082 in Books
• Published on: 1931-01-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

From the Publisher
You don't need to be a philologist or an etymologist to become engrossed in this book on the "vulgar tongue," popular language and not crude or coarse talk. This is the classic of all classics. First published in 1785, this is a reprint of the third edition that appeared in 1931. It contains the fashionable words and favorite expressions of those olden days, many of which have endured to this day and others that have long since been abandoned. Who would ever think that a "damper" was a snack before dinner? On the other hand, some might agree that "poisoned" is an apt expression for "big with child." It is guaranteed that you will find much to chuckle over in this book when you come across such expressions as "belly cheat," which is defined as an apron. There are also terms that might very well match current practices, such as "whitewashed," which refers to "one who has taken the benefit of an act of insolvency to defraud his creditors." You won't want to put this book down.

About the Author
Captain Francis Grose (1730-1791), was a notable antiquarian, famous for numerous works on or related to antiquities.

Eric Partridge (1894-1979) was a lexicographer. He authored over forty books on the English language.

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Customer Reviews

TERRIFIC DICTIONARY OF UNDERWORLD CANT
Review of Third Edition, 1963:

This isn't fictional "thieve's cant" as used in some role-playing games, this is the real deal! Thousands of terms used by the British and American underworld are carefully explained and, in some cases, early literary references are also noted.

A few examples of this strange dialect include: "eternity box," a coffin; "Mahometan gruel," for coffee (because it was introduced from Muslim Turkey); "one of us" or "one of my cousins" was used for a harlot; "quill driver," a scribe or hackney writer; "Friday face," a dismal countenace (because Fridays were fast days in The Roman Church); "goloshes" comes from "Goliath's shoes," so-called because these outer shoes are very large; "Bo-Peep," one who sometimes hides and sometimes shows himself in public. There are *thousands* of such cool usages in this book.

I have seen limited lists of thieve's cant on various web sites, but many of them crib from some edition or other of this book. Barnes & Noble should *definitely* release a new edition of this as a paperback!