Ripper-Related Victorian Vocabulary

[Archaic]

Hi everyone.

I’ve been going through a number of Victorian-Era dictionaries looking up the contemporary meanings of various words and phrases encountered in Ripperology. The meaning and usage of words often changes over time, so 21st C. English speakers must bear this in mind when reading 19th C. sources. Sometimes a word used in the 1880’s will have certain nuances or connotations which were well understood in the past, but which we no longer recognize today.

Slang in particular changes quite rapidly (Just try talking to a modern teenager and you'll see what I mean!) In Ripper studies we often encounter 19th C. colloquial expressions, archaic phraseology, and East End slang when reading witness testimonies, but we might not even recognize a phrase as being an archaic or colloquial expression- in which case we might misunderstand what the witness was actually saying. We've encountered this on some recent threads. The mutability of language is just a natural thing; a person from the 1880's transplanted to today would encounter the same phenomenon.

I’ve collected a few examples that I thought I’d post. If anyone has any Victorian words or phrases you'd like clarified, please feel free to ask. I’d be happy to look them up for you, and I'm sure others will be happy to respond as well. You're welcome to ask about Victorian clothing and accessories too. I have a background in antique clothing, so I'll do my best to explain them and perhaps post photos or illustrations.

Of course others are very welcome to chime in and share their knowledge. Hopefully this thread will become a helpful resource for all.

Thanks and best regards,
Archaic

[babybird67]

hi Archaic

that's a really good idea.

I've been reading an article about the Victorian census and there are some gems of job descriptions in there. For example the article states that there were tens of thousands of prostitutes in Victorian England, but never does the job description of prostitute appear. Some of the euphemisms were 'unfortunate', 'fallen', and my favourite, 'nymph of the pave'.

There was also a job for a 'Lucifer woman'...no, not another synonym for prostitute, but instead a woman who made Lucifer matches.

From an article in BBC History magazine by Edward Higgs.

Jen x

[Archaic]

"Military Bearing" In Late 19th C. Usage

I’m going to start with a phrase that’s being discussed right now on one of the Toppy threads, “military bearing”. The witness George Hutchinson was described as exhibiting "military bearing” by a newspaper reporter. The term occurs in many Victorian-era dictionaries and other publications and is actually still in use today. It doesn’t necessarily mean George was ever in the army, and it means much more than that he stood up straight.

'Military Bearing' is a term used to describe subjective impressions of professionalism, manliness, and dependability.

-Exhibiting an air of confidence, integrity, competence, calmness, courtesy, and respect.

-Comporting oneself with poise and dignity.

-Standing proudly erect with a respectful, confident, manly attitude.

- How one comports oneself; poise.

- A respectful manner which inspires confidence.

- A fine proud soldierly posture.

- Listening carefully and respectfully to one’s superiors; giving direct and forthright replies when spoken to.

- Modern Meaning(2010): ‘Military Bearing’ refers to the manner in which one addresses seniors and superiors, answering questions calmly, respectfully, and accurately while projecting an air of professionalism and competence. Standing up straight and proud; being attentive, courteous and well-mannered. Being neat, clean, and well-groomed. Comporting oneself as a gentleman.


In my opinion the reporter who used the phrase “military bearing” to describe George Hutchinson was paying him a compliment, and indicating that George was a young man who carried himself well and exhibited an air of quiet confidence, respect, and dependability.

Best regards,
Archaic

[protohistorian]

what an awesome idea for a thread! It is now on my watch list! not-Dave

[Archaic]

Prostitutes

Hi Jen. Wow, I never heard "nymph of the pave" before! That's a great one; thank you.

"Lucifer Woman" sounds like the name of a female rock band.

Late 19th C. medical journals often use the euphemism "women of a certain class" when referring to prostitutes. They're often called "degraded females" or "fallen women" too.

I've also seen "daughters of Eve" (poor Eve, she gets blamed for everything!)

Higher-class prostitutes were often called "kept women", "fancy women" or "courtesans".

"Harlot", "strumpet" and "whore" were often used too, though the latter was considered a vulgar phrase, as it is today.

Gotta run, I'm in the middle of a big job and was just taking a break. I'll post a few more later when I have a little time.

Best regards,
Archaic

PS: Thanks Dave.

[babybird67]

hi Archaic

yes i thought nymph of the pave was quite sweet myself lol...almost something for the 'fallen' to aspire to. Maybe it was a position you got to after a year or so just being fallen lol.

Another euphemism the author suggests might have been used for prostitutes was

" Persons Engaged in Entertaining, and Performing Personal Offices for Man" i.e. domestic service.

Quite what these services might have included would be open to debate one would think!

Once again, Archaic, great thread.

Jen x

[DVV]

I’m going to start with a phrase that’s being discussed right now on one of the Toppy threads, “military bearing”. The witness George Hutchinson was described as exhibiting "military bearing” by a newspaper reporter. The term occurs in many Victorian-era dictionaries and other publications and is actually still in use today. It doesn’t necessarily mean George was ever in the army, and it means much more than that he stood up straight.

'Military Bearing' is a term used to describe subjective impressions of professionalism, manliness, and dependability.

-Exhibiting an air of confidence, integrity, competence, calmness, courtesy, and respect.

-Comporting oneself with poise and dignity.

-Standing proudly erect with a respectful, confident, manly attitude.

- How one comports oneself; poise.

- A respectful manner which inspires confidence.

- A fine proud soldierly posture.

- Listening carefully and respectfully to one’s superiors; giving direct and forthright replies when spoken to.

- Modern Meaning(2010): ‘Military Bearing’ refers to the manner in which one addresses seniors and superiors, answering questions calmly, respectfully, and accurately while projecting an air of professionalism and competence. Standing up straight and proud; being attentive, courteous and well-mannered. Being neat, clean, and well-groomed. Comporting oneself as a gentleman.


In my opinion the reporter who used the phrase “military bearing” to describe George Hutchinson was paying him a compliment, and indicating that George was a young man who carried himself well and exhibited an air of quiet confidence, respect, and dependability.

Best regards,
Archaic

Excellent, Bunny !

Some posters should read this, but I won't name them.

All the best

[sdreid]

Due to the formalities of the writing of the time and the fact that no means of recording speech was generally available, I'm pretty sure that some words and idioms have been irretrievably lost with the deaths of those who used them. Since we have no clue of them then we don't know what we don't know and thus need no definition. Now back to the definitions of the utterances that we do know of.

[harry]

'Swanky' is an old word used by victorians.Generally referred to the better off who dressed well,lived in nice houses,and exhibited a'Toffey nosed'atitude.

'Married well',or,'Made a good catch' refered generally to a poorer person who married 'Into money'.

'Gaffer'or'Guvenner' was the boss.'Brood' was the children of a family.(parents would refer to my brood)
'Sloush hat' was a flat peaked cap.

These are some of the expressions used by my parents and grandparents(victorians),and not used by my grandchildren.Some may have been just regional.

[sdreid]

Doing fine Archaic thanks. I was thinking of slang that had a rather limited use but of course can't say for sure.

[Jane Coram]

Hi,

There are a couple of websites I use all the time.

One is and etymology dictionary: www.etymonline.com (weird but right address). This is invaluable for tracing the origin of words and there are some real shockers in there I can tell you! Words I thought were quite recent are often medieval!

Another one I use is the criminal slang dictionary on www.victorianlondon.org.
There are some good ones in there, although it dates to a couple of decades earlier than Jack's time. Many of them are still around today, so I suspect that most of them would still be current in Jack's time.

One I did notice is that prostitutes were called 'bobtails' not 'bangtails' as rendered in the film From Hell (unless that name was used as well and the dictionary omitted it). I suppose the word 'bangtails' sounded better for the film, whereas 'bobtails' sounds far less earthy. They were also called ****-chafers. It's worth going through the flash dictionary on viclondon.com, there is some good stuff there. Oh, it's censored the word, but I've got to put it or it doesn't make sense - it's c o c k. I think it might not be referencing what we think it is. I suspect it's talking about **** bird. Lol

Why are the posts all going up in the wrong order on my machine?

Hugs

Janie

xxxxx

[Jane Coram]

Hi All,

Harry must remember loads of the old terms. I'm not sure what part of the country you're in Harry, so they may be a bit different, but I bet a lot of them overlap!

I'm sure a lot of people are confused by some Cockney terms. Here are a few that would have been around in Jack's time, although I don't know how long they would have been around before that.

Duck: An expression used to signify affection, such as 'Are you alright duck?'
Could be used to a man or woman.

Daft 'aporth: someone who had done something silly or was considered a bit dopey. I.e 'You're a daft 'aporth.'

'aporth is short for 'halfpenny worth.'

Slap and tickle: any sexual contact ranging from a cuddle to full blown sex.

Keep yer 'and on yer 'apenny: The usual parting comment to a daughter going out on the town for the night. In other words, don't let any bloke get into your knickers. The literal meaning is: 'Keep you hands on your halfpenny'.

Fourpenny one: A hard slap or punch, also called 'a right-hander'.

Fanny: A woman's sexual organs, not her behind as is the meaning in the US.

Coppin' a deaf 'un: Not listening. (I'm not actually sure how old that one is, I'll check it out. It might be newer.

Of course Cockney's rarely use the full phrase in Cockney rhyming slang. It was and still is abbreviated. I.e The Frog and Toad = Road, is usually just given as 'the frog.'

Well, I won't bore you with any more, but the sad thing is that they are dying out now and it would be a shame if they were all forgotten.

Hugs

Janie

xxxxx

[Steven Russell]

My favourite is "Shabby genteel", a phrase I have started using to explain my own threadbare wardrobe as a deliberate fashion statement.

Best, Steve.

[babybird67]

thanks for those links Jane

I had the etymology one but the crime one was new to me.

Jen xx

[Adam Went]

Many of the lower classes and criminals in Victorian London had their own language of sorts which they almost classed as a "secret code", and they would talk in this code if potential informants or policemen were lurking near them.....in fact, it was little more complicated than saying their words backwards.

For instance, "Top of Reeb" meant "Pot of Beer". Nicknames also had a lot more literal meanings back then - Long Liz and Dark Annie we already know about, but then there was Lushing Loo, Cast-Iron Poll, etc.
Quite clever really.

Cheers,
Adam.