Ripper-Related Victorian Vocabulary

[Archaic]

Murder Ballad Website

Hi Robert.

This oughtta keep you busy: a man named Paul Slade has a wonderful website with a special heading for 'Murder Ballads'. He offers the history, lyrics, illustrations, etc.

Here's a link to a detailed article describing the "Murder Ballad Industry" of the dread Seven Dials neighborhood of London.

http://www.planetslade.com/broadside-ballads-1.html

Maybe those of you who take a look can share some of the slang terms you discover as you go.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Robert]

Thanks for that, everyone. Great stuff.

[Archaic]

Murder Ballad Slang Vocabulary

Here's a few slang terms from the murder ballad given in the preceding post.

Sweated their duds: Pawned their clothes

The Squeezer: The hangman or the gallows

Glims: Candles

Trap-Case: Coffin

Jack-Ketch: The executioner

Claret: Blood

Throttle: Neck or throat

Throttler: Hangman

Sent him to take a ground-sweat: Buried him


Archaic

[Archaic]

Murder Ballad In Newgate Cant (Slang Language)

Here's a Murder Ballad written in the early 1800's that uses a number of interesting slang terms.

The ballad is written in what's known as "The Newgate Cant"; a type of underworld slang that evolved in relation to Newgate Prison and its executions. Explanations for each slang term is given in the footnotes.

The ballad is titled "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched". "Stretched" is of course slang for "hung". The ballad mentions Kilmainham; that's an old and fearsome prison in Dublin, Ireland. I've been there, and it's hard to imagine a scarier or more oppressive place. I can well imagine what a "Kilmainham look" is- a "killing" look, one that strikes fear into your very bones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Before_Larry_Was_Stretched

Best regards,
Archaic

PS: Both Elvis Costello and the Wolf Tones have recorded this ballad... kind of surprising, I'd have thought it more in the style of the Pogues.

[Archaic]

Hi Chris.

I'm not persuaded, but can I place an order to go?

Archaic

[ChrisGeorge]

Kibosh might also be related to kebab.

"Kebabs put the kibosh on upmarket eating", Sydney Morning Herald, August 23, 2010.

[Archaic]

The Surprising History of "Kibosh"

OK, guys, back to the thread topic...

Here's a slang term I would never have thought was connected to executions: kibosh. As in "Oh no you don't, I'm putting the kibosh on that!" The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "kibosh" as: "Put an end to; dispose of decisively."

In common usage "Putting the kibosh on" is an informal way of saying someone is putting a stop to something. I never really thought about its origins before, but by the sound of the word I'd have guessed it was of Jewish origin, kind of like "knish" (that yummy NY street food).

It's believed that "Kibosh" originated as the old Gaelic term "cie bais", pronounced "kie bosh", meaning "cap of death". This was the black skullcap donned by Irish judges prior to delivering a death sentence. It evolved into the piece of black linen fabric a judge in the UK would solemnly place over his head before sentencing a prisoner to death. So if the judge put the "cie bais"/ "kibosh" on, someone's life was being ended.

Charles Dickens was one of the first to use the slang term "kibosh" in print. This was in 1836, and he spelled it "ky-bosk" as it was spoken by a character with a strong Cockney accent.

Ain't language marvelous?

Best regards,
Archaic

[Rubyretro]

Robert -do you know Brassens ?

http://youtu.be/gsmT5MVGQ_g

[Rubyretro]

Those interested in genealogy may find the following ditty amusing :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgS4lCT2F4c

Thank you Robert ....love this...right up my street..

I've got a couple of felons in my Family Tree (that I know of !), one hung and one transported..

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Archaic and Robert

As brutal as they were, the executions in Britain were relatively humane compared to those in Russia and elsewhere. Wikipedia discusses Russian executions, noting that "the methods of execution were extremely cruel by modern standards (but fully consistent with the standards of the time), and included drowning, burying alive, and forcing liquid metal into the throat." Some of the executions gained international notoriety, e.g., the mass execution of Streltsy by Peter the Great after their failed uprising of 1698.

Chris

[Archaic]

"On The Wagon" and Execution At Tyburn

Thanks Robert and Chris. Up the Family Tree!

Here's another slang term apparently derived from the custom of hanging people at Tyburn- the phrase "on the wagon", meaning one is not drinking alcohol.

The story is that condemned prisoners were driven through town in an open wagon, sitting on their own coffins. (Lovely touch, that.) On the way to Tyburn the wagon made a traditional stop for a drop of "charity", an alcoholic beverage to help slake their thirst and steady their nerves. Once the wagon was underway again they were headed straight for execution, never to drink liquor again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-london/A988833

Makes me wonder who first made the witty remark "He fell off the wagon" when they saw someone imbibing.

Oh, I know- it must have been Robert's great-gr-gr-gr--gr-gr-great-grandpa...

Archaic

[ChrisGeorge]

Those interested in genealogy may find the following ditty amusing :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgS4lCT2F4c

Thanks, Robert. I enjoyed that. Although not about genealogy, the sense of humor in that song reminded me of the offbeat songs of Baltimore-born jazz bassist Jay Leonhart. See these:

The German Shepherd

I Want My Bonus

Cheers

Chris

[Robert]

Those interested in genealogy may find the following ditty amusing :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgS4lCT2F4c

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Chris.

While doing genealogy an English friend of mine discovered that she had an ancestor in the early 1800's who was put in Newgate for stealing a little bit of cloth. I believe it was a woman, and she spent 3 months in solitary confineement.

I guess if you go back far enough, stries like that are in everybody's family. That's basically what history is, "the story of us".

Best regards,
Archaic

Indeed. Thanks, Archaic.

Cheers

Chris

[Archaic]

Hi Chris.

While doing genealogy an English friend of mine discovered that she had an ancestor in the early 1800's who was put in Newgate for stealing a little bit of cloth. I believe it was a woman, and she spent 3 months in solitary confineement.

I guess if you go back far enough, stries like that are in everybody's family. That's basically what history is, "the story of us".

Best regards,
Archaic