The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue dates from 1811 and this is probably the only full, uncensored and searchable version of this dictionary on the internet. All the original crudities have been restored and it offers an interesting perspective on Common English from the time of the Regency and Jane Austen.

Select a letter or type a word and click Find. Searches are automatically wild-carded and clicking on words in the first column will look for all occurrences of that word, or related word.

Example:You click A and one of the results is ARSE. If you now click on ARSE the full list of related content will be displayed.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

 

Entries releated to GENTLEMAN

 

ACADEMY, or PUSHING SCHOOL		A brothel. The Floating Academy; the lighters on board of which those persons are confined, who by a late regulation are condemned to hard labour, instead of transportation. Campbell's Academy; the same, from a gentleman of that name, who had the contract for victualling the hulks or lighters.
BACK DOOR (USHER, or GENTLEMAN OF THE)		A sodomite.
BANG UP		Quite the thing, hellish fine. Well done. Compleat. Dashing. In a handsome stile. A bang up cove; a dashing fellow who spends his money freely. To bang up prime: to bring your horses up in a dashing or fine style: as the swell's rattler and prads are bang up prime; the gentleman sports an elegant carriage and fine horses.
BLOWEN		A mistress or whore of a gentleman of the scamp. The blowen kidded the swell into a snoozing ken, and shook him of his dummee and thimble; the girl inveigled the gentleman into a brothel and robbed him of his pocket book and watch.
BLOWER		A pipe. How the swell funks his blower and lushes red tape; what a smoke the gentleman makes with his pipe, and drinks brandy.
BREECHED		Money in the pocket: the swell is well breeched, let's draw him; the gentleman has plenty of money in his pocket, let us rob him.
BUM		To arrest a debtor. The gill bummed the swell for a thimble; the tradesman arrested the gentleman for a watch.
BURNER		A clap. The blowen tipped the swell a burner; the girl gave the gentleman a clap.
CHAPERON		The cicisbeo, or gentleman usher to a lady; from the French.
CHURL		Originally, a labourer or husbandman: figuratively a rude, surly, boorish fellow. To put a churl upon a gentleman; to drink malt liquor immediately after having drunk wine.
CRUMP		One who helps solicitors to affidavit men, or false witnesses. - 'I wish you had, Mrs. Crump;' a Gloucestershire saying, in answer to a wish for any thing; implying, you must not expect any assistance from the speaker. It is said to have originated from the following incident: One Mrs. Crump, the wife of a substantial farmer, dining with the old Lady Coventry, who was extremely deaf, said to one of the footmen, waiting at table, 'I wish I had a draught of small beer,' her modesty not permitting her to desire so fine a gentleman to bring it: the fellow, conscious that his mistress could not hear either the request or answer, replied, without moving, 'I wish you had, Mrs. Crump.' These wishes being again repeated by both parties, Mrs. Crump got up from the table to fetch it herself; and being asked by my lady where she was going, related what had passed. The story being told abroad, the expression became proverbial.
CUB		An unlicked cub; an unformed, ill-educated young man, a young nobleman or gentleman on his travels: an allusion to the story of the bear, said to bring its cub into form by licking. Also, a new gamester.
DRAW		To take any thing from a pocket. To draw a swell of a clout. To pick a gentleman's pocket of a handkerchief. To draw the long bow; to tell lies.
EQUIPT		Rich; also, having new clothes. Well equipt; full of money, or well dressed. The cull equipped me with a brace of meggs; the gentleman furnished me with. a couple of guineas.
FELLOW COMMONER		An empty bottle: so called at the university of Cambridge, where fellow commoners are not in general considered as over full of learning. At Oxford an empty bottle is called a gentleman commoner for the same reason. They pay at Cambridge 250 l. a year for the privilege of wearing a gold or silver tassel to their caps. The younger branches of the nobility have the privilege of wearing a hat, and from thence are denominated HAT FELLOW COMMONERS.
FLASH		Knowing. Understanding another's meaning. The swell was flash, so I could not draw his fogle. The gentleman saw what I was about, and therefore I could not pick his pocket of his silk handkerchief. To patter flash, to speak the slang language. See PATTER.
GENTLEMAN COMMONER		An empty bottle; an university joke, gentlemen commoners not being deemed over full of learning.
GENTLEMAN OF THREE INS		In debt, in gaol, and in danger of remaining there for life: or, in gaol, indicted, and in danger of being hanged in chains.
GENTLEMAN OF THREE OUTS		That is, without money, without wit, and without manners: some add another out, i.e. without credit.
GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION		A louse.
GENTLEMAN'S MASTER		A highway robber, because he makes a gentleman obey his commands, i.e. stand and deliver.
GENTRY COVE		A gentleman.
GENTRY COVE KEN		A gentleman's house.
GORGER		A gentleman. A well dressed man. Mung kiddey. Mung the gorger; beg child beg, of the gentleman.
HORSE GODMOTHER		A large masculine woman, a gentlemanlike kind of a lady.
IVORIES		Teeth. How the swell flashed his ivories; how the gentleman shewed his teeth.
JACK ROBINSON		Before one could say Jack Robinson; a saying to express a very short time, originating from a very volatile gentleman of that appellation, who would call on his neighbours, and be gone before his name could be announced.
KETCH		Jack Ketch; a general name for the finishers of the law, or hangmen, ever since the year 1682, when the office was filled by a famous practitioner of that name, of whom his wife said, that any bungler might put a man to death, but only her husband knew how to make a gentleman die sweetly.
KNIGHT AND BARROW PIG		More hog than gentleman. A saying of any low pretender to precedency.
LOUSE		A gentleman's companion. He will never louse a grey head of his own; he will never live to be old.
MELT		To spend. Will you melt a borde? will you spend a shilling? The cull melted a couple of decusses upon us; the gentleman spent a couple of crowns upon us.
OUTS		A gentleman of three outs. See GENTLEMAN.
PIT		A watch fob. He drew a rare thimble from the swell's pit. He took a handsome watch from the gentleman's fob.
PITT'S PICTURE		A window stopt up on the inside, to save the tax imposed in that gentleman's administration. PARTY WIT
PPC		An inscription on the visiting cards of our modern fine gentleman, signifying that they have called POUR PRENDRE CONGE, i.e. 'to take leave,' This has of late been ridiculed by cards inscribed D.I.O. i.e. 'Damme, I'm off.'
PRAD		A horse. The swell flashes a rum prad: the e gentleman sports a fine horse.
QUID		The quantity of tobacco put into the mouth at one time. To quid tobacco; to chew tobacco. Quid est hoc? hoc est quid; a guinea. Half a quid; half a guinea. The swell tipped me fifty quid for the prad; the gentleman gave fifty pounds for the horse.
REGULARS		Share of the booty. The coves cracked the swell's crib, fenced the swag, and each cracksman napped his regular; some fellows broke open a gentleman's house, and after selling the property which they had stolen, they divided the money between them.
SHAKE		To draw any thing from the pocket. He shook the swell of his fogle; he robbed the gentleman of his silk handkerchief.
SNOOZING KEN		A brothel. The swell was spiced in a snoozing ken of his screens; the gentleman was robbed of his bank notes in a brothel.
SPICE		To rob. Spice the swell; rob the gentleman.
SWELL		A gentleman. A well-dressed map. The flashman bounced the swell of all his blunt; the girl's bully frightened the gentleman out of all his money.
TAYLE DRAWERS		Thieves who snatch gentlemens swords from their sides. He drew the cull's tayle rumly; he snatched away the gentleman's sword cleverly.
THIMBLE		A watch. The swell flashes a rum thimble; the gentleman sports a fine watch.
TOGS		Clothes. The swell is rum-togged. The gentleman is handsomely dressed.
TWISS		(IRISH) A Jordan, or pot de chambre. A Mr. Richard Twiss having in his "Travels" given a very unfavourable description of the Irish character, the inhabitants of Dublin, byway of revenge, thought proper to christen this utensil by his name - suffice it to say that the baptismal rites were not wanting at the ceremony. On a nephew of this gentleman the following epigram was made by a friend of ouis: Perish the country, yet my name Shall ne'er in STORY be forgot, But still the more increase in fame, The more the country GOES TO POT.
VARMENT		Natty, dashing. He is quite varment, he is quite the go. He sports a varment hat, coat, etc.; he is dressed like a gentleman Jehu.
VELVET		To tip the velvet; to put one's tongue into a woman's mouth. To be upon velvet; to have the best of a bet or match. To the little gentleman in velvet, ie: the mole that threw up the hill that caused Crop (King William's horse) to stumble; a toast frequently drank by the tories and catholics in Ireland.
WEED		To take a part. The kiddey weeded the swell's screens; the youth took some of the gentleman's bank notes.
WHORE-MONGER		A man that keeps more than one mistress. A country gentleman, who kept a female friend, being reproved by the parson of the parish, and styled a whore-monger, asked the parson whether he had a cheese in his house; and being answered in the affirmative, 'Pray,' says he, 'does that one cheese make you a cheese-monger?'