A Victorian Fable(with Glossary)
on the ran-tan - adjectives and phrases denoting various stages of
Sometimes the glass is cut with a diamond, and a strip of
"Im fairly in half-mourning -- it wont fadge, it just wont fadge. He gives me the Jerry go Nimbles. Ill stun him -- Ill streak. Ill pick up my sticks and cut."
foul language
flare-up, a row
ophthalmic derangement
ginger-hackled adj. -- having auburn or flaxen hair
glumpish adj. -- of a stubborn, sulky temper (our hero certainly fits the
snickert, a low alley way
obfuscated
Gill terms of disapprobation applied to females
shed a tear, to to take a dram or glass of neat spirits; jocular
worm policeman
ginnel, a still lower alley way
buy the rabbit, to make a bad bargain; obtain a deal of trouble and inconvenience
Joe Blake the to visit a low woman in a house of ill-repute
neddy, a a large quantity of commodity, as in "a neddy of fruit",
beargeared
sloop of war, a whore (rhyming slang)
he sells at the ragshops, or to the bone-
hip, to to be offended
Here the sloops of war and the dollymops flash it to spie a dowry of parny; there the bonneters cooled their longs and shorts in the hazard drums.
antiscriptural adj - applied to oaths when they are composed of
He hopped the twig on her.
drop into somebody, to give them an unprovoked beating
go to a Bungay Fair and to have reached the ultimate degree of intoxication. In the
hole in the ladder, to /
shove in the mouth, a glass of spirits
culver-headed adj. -- weak and stupid
spoffy adj. -- officious, intrusive
in your shoes?" "Faith, an what if I do?" said the girl. "Because,"
blackberry swagger a person who hawks tapes, bootlaces, etc.
twopenny head
Ben Flake, a a steak (rhyming slang)
dollymop, a a tawdrily dressed maid-servant, a
fiddle-faced adj. -- applied to those with wizened countenances
shivering-jemmy, a a begger who exposes himself, half-nake九*九*藏*书*网d,
fancy-bloke gentleman friend
"You mouldy old bed-fagot, you rotten old gooseberry pudden, you ugly old Gill, you flea-ridden old moll!" he blasted. "Ill give you jessie, you Mullingar heifer!"
topped, to be to be executed. Which the brute richly deserved
vertical care-grinder treadmill
Bartlemy, to go to
water of life gin (from aqua vitae?)
Irish and thieves
common sewer the throat
bung landlord
A barnacled cove (a spoffy blackberry swagger with a Newgate fringe) from the top floor back sang out: "Knife it, you head beetler! Stow faking!" But got a stunning fag on the twopenny that sent him half-way to Albertopolis.
streak, to to abscond
barney the company
fake the rubber, to stand treat in an extravagant manner
top of Rome home (rhyming slang)
on the nose, to be on the look-out
give jessie, to to commit assault and battery upon someone
sick as a horse popular simile denoting extreme ennui
sing out, to exclaim in a loud voice
squabby adj. -- fat, short and thick
streetwalker
rookeries a slow neighbourhood inhabited by dirty
chive, to to shout
phrase used, with a sort of grim earnestness, by
by some action
shaver young person
dowry of parny, a a lot of rain
"This shove in the mouth makes me shoot the cat! Me dumpling depot is fair all-overish!"
merchants
bill here!)
star the glaze, to to break the window or show-glass of a jeweller or other
Tom and Jerry, a a drinking shop
stow faking, to to cease evil activity
dab tros bad sort (back slang)
omee man-in-charge; governor; landlord (when used by
tradesman, and take any valuable articles and run away.
score
lumpy
Moll
district
accost the first he met next. "May I ask," said he, "if you wear hay
drum, to take
half-a-grunter sixpence
blast, to to curse
moony
Sharps Alley blood worms black puddings. Sharps Alley was very recently a
frog and toad
99lib•net
main road (rhyming slang)pulling the wenches about
"Pray God," she said, "that he be neither beargeared, bleary, blued, primed, lumpy, top-heavy, moony, scammered, on the ran-tan, ploughed, muddled, obfuscated, swipy, kisky, sewed up nor all mops and brooms! Or that he hasnt lapped the gutter, cant see a hole in a ladder or been to Bungay Fair and lose both his legs!"
Joe Savage cabbage (rhyming slang)
mendozy dear, darling; a term of endearment probably from
muddled
swipy
pepper, to
and all likely spots for refuse bones, which
hieroglyphic verb "to be drunk" has the significant form of the
penniless, if at all
alderman in chains, an a turkey hung with sausages
in half-mourning, to be to have sustained a black eye, or "mouse", in the course of a
But when he got the water of life down the common sewer, he bullyragged so antiscripturally that the barney hipped and nabbed the rust.
a kind of conical shell adhering to ships bottoms. Hence a marine
cupboard-headed an expression designating one whose head is both wooden
down to feed on it."
top-heavy
borrowed, in order to stir the sympathy of the
lose both legs, to Ancient Egyptian language, the determinative character of the
In every snickert and ginnel, bone-grubbers, rufflers, shivering-jemmies, anglers, clapperdogeons, peterers, sneeze-lurkers and Whip Jacks with their morts, out of the picaroon, fox and flimp and ogle.
bullyrag, to to abuse or scold violently; to swindle out of money
water to their eyes
Spike Park the Queens Bench prison
Friday and Easter Sunday
"a neddy of fish"
hook at the end, which he inserts into open
clapperdogeon, a a beggar who uses children, either of his own or
stun, to to astonish
leather, to /
But what a flare-up in the soush! He dropped into her on the spot. Hed got a capital twist for a batty fang and he showed her it was dragging time; she was sick as a九_九_藏_书_网 horse. He was a catchy fancy-bloke.
tussle
dumpling depot belly
struck with this pecularity in the local women that he determined to
lap the gutter, to
the case of the hero of our anecdote, a capital twist for. . .
knife it, to to stop, to bring to a halt
"He ought to go to the vertical care-grinder!" she chived. "He ought to be marinated! Ill never poll up with a liver-faced, chatty, beef-headed, cupboard-headed, culver-headed, fiddle-faced, glumpish, squabby dab tros like him again!
kisky
twist appetite, e.g. "Wills got a capital twist for a Ben Flake" or, in
falling in and making a noise. Another plan is to cut the sash
hop the twig, to to run away; to leave someone in the lurch
She had bought the rabbit with that slubberdegullion. He peppered her and clumped her and leathered her till she went flop down on the Rory OMore and then he stepped it for the frog and toad, to go to Joe Blake the Bartlemy.
term for goggles, and for which they are used by sailors in a case of
On Shitten Saturday, the worms pinned that scaly shaver of hers in a Tom and Jerry for starring the glaze; he went over the stile at Spike Park and got topped.
poll up, to to live with a member of the opposite sex in a state of
binnoculi?). Derived by some from the barnacle (Lepas Anatifera),
jomer sweetheart
blued
fadge, it wont expression meaning "it just wont do", or "it just wont work"
irregular relationship
angler, an a thief who goes about with a rod, having a
splodger lout
go over the stile, to to go for trial (rhyming slang)
cool, to to look, to look over (back slang)
barnacled adj. -- applied to a wearer of spectacles (corruption of Latin
marinated, to be transported; from the salt pickling herrings undergo in Cornwall
fag blow
Albertopolis a facetious appelation given by Villagers to the Kensington Gore
origin. It is said that a traveller passing through Mullingar wawww.99lib.nets so
Village, the London
mizzle, to to depart with great speed; to vanish
a landlord about himself)
flash it, to show it, to display ones wares
old topers. The origin may have been that ardent
on a cold day to obtain alms. This occupation
scaly adj. -- unpleasant, disgusting
shoot the cat, to vomit
bleary
noted slaughtering place near Smithfield
skull-thatcher a straw-bonnet maker
a speel on the to take a trip to the country
take a fright night (rhyming slang)
I desire fire (rhyming slang)
sewed up
have ones hump up, to to be in a fearful rage
Mullingar heifer said of a lady whose ankles are "beefy", or thick. A term of Irish
clump, to - degrees of beating
cut, to without notice; to do a "moonlight flit"
unmarried impropriety
charitable
beef-headed adj.-- stupid
So she bolted and took a speel on the drum to the top of Rome.
She had faked the rubber for her mendozy and got him up an out and out glorious sinner. There was an alderman in chains, a Ben Flake, a neddy of Sharps Alley blood worms, with Irish apricots, Joe Savace and storrac.
The Village, take a fright.
the valiant fighter, Mendoza
bonneter, a one who induces another to gamble
and hollow
killing adjective of high commendation; outstanding; unique
dragging time the evening of a country fair day, when the young fellows begin
chatty adj. -- infested with lice
stunning adj. -- astounding
longs and shorts cards made for cheating
ruffler, a beggar pretending to be an old, maimed
catchy inclined to take undue advantage
the position of the rope when Jack Ketch operates
storrac carrots (back slang)
pick up ones sticks and to collect ones possessions and leave an establishment
cove or covey; a man or boy of any age
pin, to to arrest, to apprehend
glorious sinner dinner (rhyming slang)
bone-grubber, a a person who hunts dust-holes, gutters,
soush house (back slang)
leg of a man being ampu九-九-藏-书-网tated
liver-faced adj. -- mean, cowardly
out and out adj. -- first-rate; splendid
square, to to settle a bill
poll young lady with whom a gentleman is having an
step it, to abscond
A Hopping Giles gets a bloody Jemmy on the cross of a cut-throat; the snotters crib belchers, birds eye wipes, blue billies and Randals men.
nab the rust, to to take offence
windows at night on the chance of a catch
In a boozing ken in the Holy Land, a dunk-horned cutter -- a cock-eyed clack box in flashy benjamin and blood red fancy -- shed a tear by the I desire.
Jerry go Nimbles diarrhoea
slubberdegullion worthless wretch
bed-fagot bed companion
At his ruggy carser, his poll -- a killing, ginger-hackled skull-thatcher -- kept on the nose for her jomer.
cream of the valley gin
Irish apricots potatoes
Shitten Saturday corruption of "Shut-in Saturday"; the day between Good
all mops and brooms
primed
hazard drum, a gambling dens, where the honest escape
spirits, taken neat by younger persons, usually bring
batty fang, a a sound beating, a drubbing
bolt, to to run away, escape
He certainly had his hump up. He absquatulated. The bung cried: "Square the omee for the cream of the valley!" But the splodger had mizzled with his half-a-grunter.
absquatulate, to depart from an establishment without paying ones
is unpleasant but exceedingly lucrative
gooseberry pudden woman (rhyming slang)
scammered
Rory OMore floor (rhyming slang)
Newgate fringe, a the collar of beard worn under the chin; so called from its indicating
soldier
by intimidation and sheer abuse
In the rookeries.
not be able to see a
ruggy adj. -- frowsty, unclean
Glossary
says the traveller, "that accounts for the calves of your legs coming
leather fastened to the piece of glass cut out to keep it from
flop down, to go to collapse totally
carser house, home
all-overish adj. -- sick, unwell, out of order
ploughed drunkenness