Such Language! Part...um...a lot

More linguistic shenanigans from The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue...enjoy!

Barkshire: Someone is said to be standing as candidate for Barkshire if he is troubled with a bad cough, vulgarly known as barking. (“Mr. Jermyn’s cold was so bad that it sounded as though he was standing as candidate for Barkshire at the opera last night; only Papa’s snoring was louder.”)

Leaky: Apt to blab; one who cannot keep a secret is said to be leaky. (“If you are planning on running away to Gretna Green, on no account tell my sister Sally, who is leaky as a sieve.”)

Nose: to give evidence, to inform. (“Cynthia might have made it to Gretna Green with her very handsome but very poor suitor if Sally hadn’t nosed about it to Lady Biggpurse at Almack’s last night.”)

Bounce: To tell an improbable story; also, bouncer, a great lie. (“Cousin Agnes’s bouncer about the number of proposals she’s received is exceeded only by the one she told about the number of young men she danced with at her ball.”)

King’s Bad Bargain: A malingerer or soldier who shirks his duty. (“I’m glad Georgie decided not to take that commission in the Hussars—he raises such a fuss over a hangnail that I’m sure his colonel would have considered him one of the worst of the King’s bad bargains.”)

Slubberdegullion: A dirty, nasty fellow. (“Isn’t it amazing how charming and elegant a fellow Harry has turned out to be, after being such a slubberdegullion when he was at school?”)

Corporation: A very large belly. (“Lord Pudgeton’s corporation is so very prominent, I have to wonder how many years it’s been since he caught sight of his feet.”)

To flash one’s ivory: To laugh and show one’s teeth. (“Arabella will insist upon flashing her ivory every time Lord Dimkeeping makes one of his feeble jokes...of course, as he’s worth twenty thousand a year, perhaps it isn’t to be wondered at.”)