(Or the Slang of Today Isn’t Even the Most Ridiculous
Thing I’ve Ever Heard)
Register.
I don't like register. I should, though, because it’s
the reason I get away with writing the way I do. I mean, let’s face it, I
wouldn’t last a month in class if my papers were written like this. Thing is, a
while ago (a over-a-hundred-years-while-ago), I wouldn’t last a month anywhere,
using English like this. Not that there were blogs in Victorian Era, but I’m
pretty sure they had other alternatives.
I actually have no clue about Victorian English,
either. The only time I ever try to use it is when my fanfic characters want to
have fun and use it in a very mocking way, and even that is the high-society
variety.
A while ago, I saw some post about Victorian English
on tumblr, and it made me realise that sure, I can play around with words and
try to sound fancy, but I have no clue whatsoever how their slang sounded like,
or how people would curse, or which of the words they used are completely
forgotten now.
Come to think of, it’s a sad thing how some words just
drift out of use. I know it’s natural, since language is a living thing, but
some of those words were completely unique, and nowadays, we require full
sentences to convey what was once hidden in a single word. Redamancy, for
example. It means the act of loving in return and originates from the 17th
century... But back to Victorian English. I figured it’s always fun to use
words others don’t know, especially swearwords, so here a few I found
interesting...
DAMFINO: a contraction of “damned if I know.”
LICKFINGER/LICK-SPITTLE: kiss-ass
GAS-PIPES: a term for especially tight pants.
KRUGER-SPOOF: lying.
SAUCE-BOX: the mouth.
UMBLE-CUM-STUMBLE: "thoroughly understood."
CABBAGE: to steal;
originally and still applied to tailors and milliners, who are supposed to cut
off for their own use pieces of the cloth, silk, velvet or other materials entrusted
to them to be made up.
Did I have fun finding
these? Yes. Will I ever use them? Probably not. Just like I won’t turn into a
Victorian-English expert overnight, so I’ll just leave this here and hope
somebody finds it a little bit funny.
Sources for the words/expressions:
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