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 GAMES

 

ABEL-WACKETS		Blows given on the palm of the hand with a twisted handkerchief, instead of a ferula; a jocular punishment among seamen, who sometimes play at cards for wackets, the loser suffering as many strokes as he has lost games.
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.
ELBOW SHAKER		A gamester, one who rattles Saint Hugh's bones, i.e. the dice.
FORLORN HOPE		A gamester's last stake.
GAMBLER		A sharper, of tricking, gamester.
GAMES		Thin, ill-shapped legs: a corruption of the French word jambes. Fancy gambs; sore or swelled legs.
GULLGROPERS		Usurers who lend money to the gamesters.
RUB		To run away. Don't rub us to the whit; don't send us to Newgate. - To rub up; to refresh: to rub up one's memory. A rub: an impediment. A rubber; the best two out of three. To win a rubber: to win two games out of three.
VOWEL		A gamester who does not immediately pay his losings, is said to vowel the winner, by repeating the vowels I. O. U. or perhaps from giving his note for the money according to the Irish form, where the acknowledgment of the debt is expressed by the letters I. O. U. which, the sum and name of the debtor being added, is deemed a sufficient security among gentlemen.
WAGGISH		Arch, gamesome, frolicsome.