More lexigraphic levity and
laughter, courtesy of the 1811 Dictionary
of the Vulgar Tongue. Enjoy!
Bottle-headed: Void of wit. (I
was so tongue-tied when introduced to that handsome young earl at Almack’s last
night that I could scarce utter a word, and I’m sure he thinks me completely
bottle-witted.)
Trap sticks: Thin legs, gambs: from the sticks with which boys play
at trap-ball. (Uncle Simon’s tailor is so
skilled at making trousers that he can even make uncle’s trap sticks look
shapely and muscular.)
Clunch: An awkward clownish fellow. (My new horse is such a clunch that I don’t dare ride him in Rotten
Row, lest my friends all mistake him for a circus pony.)
Scaly: Mean, sordid. (Great-aunt
Agatha’s tips are so scaly that there’s not a single crossing-sweeper in London
who’ll sweep a way for her.)
Long Meg: A jeering name for a very tall woman: from one famous in
story, called Long Meg of Westminster. (My
statuesque friend Alice complains that the worst part of being such a Long Meg
is that her dresses need an extra half-yard of fabric and therefore cost more than everyone else’s.)
Gilly Gaupus: A Scotch term
for a tall, awkward fellow. (Fortunately,
Alice’s betrothed, Lord Maclathy, is not only himself a Gilly Gaupus, but also a very wealthy man.)
Laid up in lavender: Pawned. (This
is the seventeenth time my brother’s watch-chain and fobs have been laid up in
lavender; I think he’s run out of friends to help him retrieve them.)
1 comment:
This is, of course, not cockney slang. Or is it? Never heard of such. It only goes to prove that you learn something new everyday. One other side thought: I'd love to hear how you say Gilly Gaupus!
Evelyn, The Castle Lady
Post a Comment