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.

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Entries releated to BOOKS

 

AWAKE		Acquainted with, knowing the business. Stow the books, the culls are awake; hide the cards, the fellows know what we intended to do.
BAWDY BASKET		The twenty-third rank of canters, who carry pins, tape, ballads, and obscene books to sell, but live mostly by stealing.
BOOK-KEEPER		One who never returns borrowed books. Out of one's books; out of one's fevor. Out of his books; out of debt.
BOOKS		Cards to play with. To plant the books; to place the cards in the pack in an unfair manner.
CONGER		To conger; the agreement of a set or knot of booksellers of London, that whosoever of them shall buy a good copy, the rest shall take off such a particular number, in quires, at a stated price; also booksellers joining to buy either a considerable or dangerous copy.
DEVIL'S BOOKS		Cards.
DUMMEE		A pocket book. A dummee hunter. A pick-pocket, who lurks about to steal pocket books out of gentlemen's pockets. Frisk the dummee of the screens; take all the bank notes out of the pocket book, ding the dummee, and bolt, they sing out beef. Throw away the pocket book, and run off, as they call out "stop thief."
FEE, FAW, FUM		Nonsensical words, supposed in childish story-books to be spoken by giants. I am not to be frighted by fee, faw, fum; I am not to be scared by nonsense.
GREEN		Young, inexperienced, unacquainted; ignorant. How green the cull was not to stag how the old file planted the books. How ignorant the booby was not to perceive how the old sharper placed the cards in such a manner as to insure the game.
GRUB STREET		A street near Moorfields, formerly the supposed habitation of many persons who wrote for the booksellers: hence a Grub-street writer means a hackney author, who manufactures booss for the booksellers.
HACKNEY WRITER		One who writes for attornies or booksellers.
HEAVERS		Thieves who make it their business to steal tradesmen's shop-books.
KNUCKLES		Pickpockets who attend the avenues to public places to steal pocket-books, watches, etc. a superior kind of pickpockets. To knuckle to, to submit.
READER MERCHANTS		Pickpockets, chiefly young Jews, who ply about the Bank to steal the pocket-books of persons who have just received their dividends there.
SUS PER COLL		Hanged: persons who have been hanged are thus entered into the jailor's books.
VAMP		To pawn any thing. I'll vamp it, and tip you the cole: I'll pawn it, and give you the money. Also to refit, new dress, or rub up old hats, shoes or other wearing apparel; likewise to put new feet to old boots. Applied more particularly to a quack bookseller.