The First English Dictionary of Slang 1699 - Softcover

Gent, B.e; Simpson, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851243879 ISBN 13: 9781851243877

Publisher: The Bodleian Library, 2015

Synopsis

Written originally for the education of the polite London classes in `canting' - the language of thieves and ruffians - should they be so unlucky as to wander into the `wrong' parts of town, A New Dictionary of Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew by `B.E. Gent' is the first work dedicated solely to the subject of slang words and their meanings. It is also the first text which attempts to show the overlap and integration between canting words and common slang. In its refusal to distinguish between criminal vocabulary and the more ordinary everyday English of the period, it sets canting words side by side with terms used by sailors, labourers, and those in the common currency of domestic culture. With an introduction by John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, describing the history and culture of canting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the evolution of English slang, this is a fascinating volume for anyone with a curiosity about language, or wishing to reintroduce `Dandyprat' or `Fizzle' into their everyday conversation. Anglers, c Cheats, petty Thievs, who have a Stick with a hook at the end, with which they pluck things out of Windows, Grates, &c. also those that draw in People to be cheated. Dandyprat, a little puny Fellow. Grumbletonians, Malecontents, out of Humour with the Government, for want of a Place, or having lost one. Strum, c. a Periwig. Rum-Strum, c. a long Wig; also a handsom Wench, or Strumpet.

About this title

Product Description

First English Dictionary of Slang 1699

Review

"A fantastically browseable book. Almost every page turns up quaint curiosities that didn't become standard (Dimber-cove, 'a pretty fellow'; Mulligrubs, 'a Counterfeit Fit of the Sullens'); phrase-bookish constructions such as Fib the Cove's quarrons in the Rum-pad, for the Lour in his Bung ('Beat the Man in the High-way lustily for the Money in his Purse'); humorous entries (e.g., Ambidexter, 'a Lawyer that takes Fees of a Plaintiff and Defendant at once'); entries that highlight differences in worldview and knowledge (Otter, 'an Amphibious Creature, betwixt a Beast and a Fish, a great destroyer of Fish, affording much sport in Hunting') all alongside words we now consider everyday: defunct, ('dead and gone'), elbow-gease ('a derisory Term for Sweat'), Hick ('a silly Country Fellow')."--Erin McKean "Boston Globe "

"A brilliant Christmas stocking-filler for any lover of language or social history."

--Jen Newby "Family History Monthly "

"Everyone needs a good dictionary in the loo, and this could be it."

--Marcus Berkmann "Spectator "

"A fascinating insight into a bygone linguistic age."--David Crystal

"An invaluable guide to the argot of seventeenth-century low London."--Peter Ackroyd

"Gent began the literate taste for slang that continues today."

--Jeremy Noel-Tod "Telegraph "

"Opening it at random, one is plunged back into late 17th-century London, specifically the criminal underworld of narrow streets, ale-houses, and brothels, of sheds crammed with stolen goods, stinking debtor's prisons, and public hangings."

--Jenny Lunnon "Oxford Times "

"The continuing value of this compilation is not just its historical interest, but the insight that it gives into the urban life of the period."

--Michael Quinion "World Wide Words "

"Thanks to the unearthing of a seventeenth-century text--originally printed as 'A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew' and newly titled The First English Dictionary of Slang, 1699--we can now learn the sorts of wordsounds heard on the streets of London by the likes of John Milton, Andrew Marvell and probably even Shakespeare himself. . . . Written anonymously by a mysterious 'B.E. Gent, ' the book is not a dictionary in the modern sense but an amalgam of words centered on 'cant'--the prurient, rude and witty. But it includes many non-canting words. Above all, The First English Dictionary of Slang gives us a sense of how rich a mine the English language is and how ingenious its users. Slang is eternal."

--Wall Street Journal

"English gentility was fascinated by the crude, mysterious vocabulary of the 'canting crew." The interest was voyeuristic, to be sure, but also practical: knowing what the ruffians were talking about might help you avoid getting your pocket picked if you ventured into the wrong neighborhood. Along with a slew of terms for loose women and strong drink, B. E.'s dictionary also provides a rich array of epithets for fools and simpletons (presumably referring to the folks who were easy marks for pickpocketing)."-- (04/01/2011)

Edition details

• Publisher: The Bodleian Library
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1851243879
• ISBN 13: 9781851243877
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224