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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
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 SPIT
| BELLY PLEA | The plea of pregnancy, generally adduced by female felons capitally convicted, which they take care to provide for, previous to their trials; every gaol having, as the Beggar's Opera informs us, one or more child getters, who qualify the ladies for that expedient to procure a respite. | |
| CHELSEA | A village near London, famous for the military hospital. To get Chelsea; to obtain the benefit of that hospital. Dead Chelsea, by God! an exclamation uttered by a grenadier at Fontenoy, on having his leg carried away by a cannon-ball. | |
| CROPPING DRUMS | Drummers of the foot guards, or Chelsea hospital, who find out weddings, and beat a point of war to serenade the new married couple, and thereby obtain money. | |
| DRAM | A glass or small measure of any spirituous liquors, which, being originally sold by apothecaries, were estimated by drams, ounces, etc. Dog's dram; to spit in his mouth, and clap his back. | |
| DUFFERS | Cheats who ply in different parts of the town, particularly about Water-lane, opposite St. Clement's church, in the Strand, and pretend to deal in smuggled goods, stopping all country people, or such as they think they can impose on; which they frequently do, by selling them Spital-fields goods at double their current price. | |
| FRATERS | Vagabonds who beg with sham patents, or briefs, for hospitals, fires, inundations, etc. | |
| GREENWICH GOOSE | A pensioner of Greenwich Hospital. | |
| HAWKERS | Licensed itinerant retailers of different commodities, called also pedlars; likewise the sellers of news-papers. Hawking; an effort to spit up the thick phlegm, called OYSTERS: whence it is wit upon record, to ask the person so doing whether he has a licence; a punning allusion to the Act of hawkers and pedlars. | |
| HOPPING GILES | A jeering appellation given to any person who limps, or is lame; St. Giles was the patron of cripples, lepers, etc. Churches dedicated to that saint commonly stand out of town, many of them having been chapels to hospitals. See GYLES. | |
| JOB'S DOCK | He is laid up in Job's dock; i.e. in a salivation. The apartments for the foul or venereal patients in St. Bartholomew's hospital, are called Job's ward. | |
| LICKSPITTLE | A parasite, or talebearer. | |
| LOCK HOSPITAL | An hospital for venereal patients. | |
| OYSTER | A gob of thick phlegm, spit by a consumptive man. | |
| ROYAL STAG SOCIETY | Was held every Monday evening, at seven o'clock, at the Three tuns, near the Hospital Gate, Newgate-street. | |
| SADDLE | To saddle the spit; to give a dinner or supper. To saddle one's nose; to wear spectacles. To saddle a place or pension; to oblige the holder to pay a certain portion of his income to some one nominated by the donor. Saddle sick: galled with riding, having lost leather. | |
| SPIT | A sword. | |
| SPIT | He is as like his father as if he was spit out of his mouth; said of a child much resembling his father. | |
| SPIT FIRE | A violent, pettish, or passionate person. | |
| WASPISH | Peevish, spiteful. | |