Slang & Sayings
From bang-up to balmy: the street slang, thieves’ cant, and drawing-room wit of Victorian England, defined for modern ears.
“bang-up”
First-rate; the very best of its kind.
“toff”
A fashionable, upper-class gentleman; a dandy of rank.
“bloke”
A man, a fellow.
“gammon”
Nonsense; deceitful or humbugging talk.
“bamboozle”
To cheat, mystify, or make a fool of someone.
“chaff”
Good-natured teasing; banter.
“humbug”
Nonsense; also a fraud or an impostor.
“tanner”
A sixpence.
“lush”
Drink, especially beer; also, to drink heavily.
“booze”
Alcoholic drink; to drink.
“cad”
A mean, vulgar fellow; a man of low manners.
“quid”
A pound sterling; a sovereign.
“copper”
A policeman.
“quod”
Prison; a lock-up.
“swell”
A fashionable, showy person of importance.
“bob”
A shilling.
“bobby”
A policeman.
“peeler”
A policeman.
“beak”
A magistrate or judge.
“lag”
A transported convict; a ticket-of-leave man.
“in Queer Street”
In difficulty, especially in debt.
“swag”
Stolen goods; loot, plunder.
“blow the gaff”
To reveal a secret; to inform against someone.
“up the spout”
At the pawnbroker’s; pawned.
“uncle”
The pawnbroker.
“ivories”
Teeth.
“conk”
The nose.
“potato-trap”
The mouth.
“inexpressibles”
Trousers.
“Piccadilly weepers”
Long, carefully combed-out side-whiskers.
“penny dreadful”
A cheap, sensational story-paper.
“balmy”
Weak-minded; touched, eccentric.
“pop the question”
To propose marriage.
“ripping”
Excellent, first-rate.
“brass”
Money.
“hard up”
Short of money; in difficulty.
“bosh”
Nonsense, rubbish.
“flummux”
To perplex or confound.
“slap-up”
First-rate, excellent.
“skedaddle”
To run off in a hurry.
“mizzle”
To run away, decamp; to vanish.
“spree”
A bout of merrymaking; a frolic.
“the cheese”
The correct or fashionable thing; the genuine article.
“tight”
Drunk; also stingy, or short of cash.
“rot”
Nonsense; anything bad or useless.
“masher”
A fashionable young man about town; a flirt.
“tommyrot”
Utter nonsense.
“mad as a hatter”
Completely eccentric or crazy.