Vintage Vignettes — The Letter A. #VictorianSlang

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Courtship Edmund Leighton Wikipedia
Courtship by Edmund Leighton Wikipedia

Above, two chuckaboos? Or perhaps something more?

Welcome, my chuckaboos!  The vintage of choice today is Victorian.  Some of you will remember from my posts (years ago) that “chuckaboo” was slang in that era for a dear friend. 

Those with great recall will notice that I posted this two years ago.  Sorry for the shortcut.  I’m trying (yet again) to finalize The Delta Pearl: A Steampunk Riverboat.  Don’t worry, I’m not about to say that it’s “coming soon” because I’ve made a liar of myself too many times with that.

Today I’m posting selections from the letter “A” section from my slang dictionary, “Speak Chuckaboo, Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras.”  Maybe you romance lovers can guess what “amorous congress” means.  You might want to get your fan ready…  Although I doubt anyone will guess what “ammunitons” were!

James_Tissot_The_Fan 1875 Wikipedia
The Fan, James Tissot, 1875 Wikipedia

A lick and a promise:  To do something haphazardly. “He only gave it a lick and a promise.”

Abaddon:  A thief who informs on his fellow rogues.  It comes from the Hebrew Abaddon, a destroyer.  1810-1880.

Abbess:  A woman who runs a house of prostitution.  A brothel madam.

Abbot:  The husband, or preferred man of an abbess.

Abligurition:  Pronounced ah-blig-yoo-RISH-uhn.  The act of spending excessive amounts of money on fine foods.

Ab-natural:  Supernatural.

Abnegate:  To retract, deny, recant, or relinquish — usually emphatically.

Absquatulate:  To take leave, to disappear.  “A can of oysters was discovered in our office by a friend, and he absquatulated with it, and left us with our mouths watering.” 1843.

Ace-high:  First class, respected.

According to Hoyle:  Correct, by the book.

Acknowledge the corn:  To admit the truth, to confess; to acknowledge one’s own obvious lie or shortcoming.  “Jim acknowledged the corn, and said that he was drunk.” 1840.

Ack-ruffians:  Rogues who in conjunction with watermen sometimes rob and murder on the water.  Also, ack pirates.

Admiral of the red:  A person whose very red face evinces a fondness for strong liquor.

Aeronef:  A heavier than air flying machine, an airplane or gyrocopter.

Aerostat:  A lighter than air vehicle or craft, a hot air balloon or a dirigible.

Afternoonified:  A society word meaning smart or posh.  “The food is not afternoonified enough for me.”

Agony of bliss:  An orgasm.

Alienist:  A physician specializing in treating mental disorders, a psychiatrist.

The Gallery of HMS Calcutta by James Tissot c.1876, Wikipedia
The Gallery of HMS Calcutta by James Tissot c.1876, Wikipedia

All creation:  Everything or everybody.  Also, all nature, or all wrath.

All-fired:  The same as hell-fired.  “In my opinion, Don Jones would make an all-fired good deacon.” 1852.

All on one stick:  A conglomeration or combination.  “He kept a kind of hotel and grocery store, all on one stick, as we say.” 1830.

All-overish:  Neither sick nor well, uncomfortable.  The premonitory symptoms of illness.  Also, the feeling which comes over a man at a critical moment, say just when he is about to “pop the question.” Sometimes this is called, “feeling all-over alike, and touching nowhere.”

All possessed:  Like someone or something possessed by the devil.

All to pieces:  Completely; absolutely.  “I know him all to pieces,” Tim said.

Almighty:  Huge.  “I felt almighty sad.” 1848.

Amalgamation:  The mixing of blacks and whites.

Amorous congress:  To engage in amorous congress is to have sex.

Ammunitions:  Boots..

Anglewitch:  Anything used as fishing bait, particularly worms.

Anointing:  A good beating.  Also, when salve is applied to an injury.

Anti-fogmatic:  Raw rum or whiskey.

Ape Leader:  An old maid.

Apple Lady:  Hard cider.  USA 1860s.

Arbor vitae:  A phallus, penis.

Arfarfan’arf:  A figure of speech used to describe drunken men.  “He’s very arf-arf-an’arf,” meaning he has had many “arfs,” or half-pints of booze.

Arkansas toothpick:  A long knife.  Also known as a California or Missouri toothpick.

Speak Chuckaboo, Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras, by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

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This volume contains slang from the Victorian Era, as well as the Steam Era, which began before the reign of Queen Victoria, and continued into the early 1900s.  It combines language from the Victorian, Edwardian, and Steam Eras because there was a great deal of overlap.

This slang dictionary also contains a sprinkling of vocabulary words of those eras, which have fallen out of use, along with some history and trivia. Have fun speaking chuckaboo.  You’re positively rum ti tum with the chill off!  Simply hunky dory.

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0B9W38LDJ

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0B9T8MP1K

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Thanks for visiting. It’s all beer and skittles when you’re here.  Friendly comments are encouraged.  Hugs!

 

 

Copyright © 2022 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

 

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55 thoughts on “Vintage Vignettes — The Letter A. #VictorianSlang”

  4. This was a lovely and informative post, Teagan. I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, all cities around the world have slangs that evolve from local culture, traditions and many other social factors. Mumbai has its own slang terms. For instance, we say – Chal, hawa aane de which literally means let the cool breeze in. However, it actually means Get Lost or Get Aside (indicating that the person in front of you is blocking the air).

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    1. “Let the cool breeze in” — I like that better than the similar one from where I grew up. It was “Don’t let the door hit your a$$ on your way out.” (So, not just “get lost” but get lost fast.)
      Thanks for reading and commenting, Sharukh. Have a brilliant new week. Hugs.

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  6. ‘A lick and a promise’ was widely used in London for a quick wash when in a hurry. My mum would say, “We are going to be late, so you will have to settle for a lick and a promise, no time for a bath”. I still say it now. In fact, I mentioned it in relation to our grandson just after Chrsitmas.

    Best wishes, Pete. x

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  8. That’s an impressive list of Victorian letter slang. Very clever those Victorians were. No one would call someone an “Arbor vitae” instead of a “dick” these days.

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    1. Oh, Noelle, they were so full of contrasts. Prudish to the point of creating “skirts” (which we still see in some styles) for furniture so the legs weren’t exposed! They were appalled at even the mention of legs or anything related. For instance, they wouldn’t even say “trousers” because they were too close to legs — one alternative was inexpressibles. And yet, in some ways, they could be remarkably tolerant. Thanks for reading and commenting. Hugs.

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    1. I’m happy you liked it, Dave. People keep saying they actually use some of them. Although, I wasn’t familiar with them before I started researching. Haha — yes, that’s only the A list. They had more words for sex and body parts than I ever imagined. I was actually afraid KDP might kick the book back to me as obscene. o_O Hugs.

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  21. I am with Robbie. I love the slang and the images as well. As I live in Barcelona now, I’m unlikely to be able to use then in conversation, but they’re a treasure. Thanks, Teagan and love to Daphne and Velma.

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