Ripper-Related Victorian Vocabulary

[Rubyretro]

[QUOTE]

It's a three-part confection consisting an inedible hard piece of bone, (the eel's spine) surrounded by the eel itself with a flat, slightly muddy almost metallic fishy taste, then the jelly which is (to my taste anyhow) just slightly fishy..

.

Wow-and where does the jelly come from ? I mean, I have made jelly from boiling up a pig's head several times and filtering the liquid and then cooling it...how do you make 'eel jelly' ? (just in case I ever invite you round to my place...! ).

[Cogidubnus]

What do Jellied Eels taste like?

It's a three-part confection consisting an inedible hard piece of bone, (the eel's spine) surrounded by the eel itself with a flat, slightly muddy almost metallic fishy taste, then the jelly which is (to my taste anyhow) just slightly fishy...

They are, I would say, very much an acquired taste, but at one time I had an almost endless free supply (oh the advantages of having four daughters who dated interesting men, this one a sea-food vendor who often brought home the days surplus!) I've grown to love them...

All the best

Dave

[Archaic]

News Article: 'Jellied Eels & Slang, Let the Cockney Games Begin'

There's some great Cockney rhyming slang in this recent news article:

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/jellied-eels-and-slang-let-the-cockney-games-begin-384625.htm

Archaic

PS: What do Jellied Eels taste like?

[Archaic]

Vict. Slang Article: 'Menace, Mayhem, & Moriarty! Crime in Victorian London'

Here's a link to an interesting article called 'Menace, Mayhem, and Moriarty! Crime in Victorian London' by William A. Barton.

It covers a number of crime-related slang terms, including those for prostitutes and various types of criminals. There's also a section on Jack the Ripper.

http://surrey-shore.freeservers.com/VicCrime.htm

Archaic

[Archaic]

Goulston Street "Areas"?

Hi Robert.

I had no idea "area" was pronounced "airy", thanks for posting that.

I was wondering if the recessed spaces that were in front of the site of the Goulston Grafitto in the 1880's would be termed "areas"?

I don't know if they had steps going down or any kind of entry into the building below street level; my impression was that they were created to provide a little daylight for the dark basement-level rooms.

Does anyone know?

Thanks,
Archaic

[Robert]

Hi Bunny

"Area" is pronounced "airy." When I was a boy I heard a ditty which ran something like :

One, two, three o-lary
My ball's gone down the area
Don't give it to sister Mary
Give it to Charlie Chaplin

You can see an area approx 16 mins into this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybd2KflxtxQ

[Trevor Marriott]

I'd dearly love to know how this phrase started. Was slapping and tickling a woman what passed for foreplay in the c19th? I can't say it would get me going!

Helena

Well you can have my jump leads if you are having difficulty. I have never had need of them

[Phil Carter]

Hello Dave,

That's the first time Ive heard that used in many a year I must admit. You'll have fun learning from that lady if she uses such long lost phrases!

cheers!

Phil

[Cogidubnus]

Ax

"I'll ax"

It actually means "I will ask" or "I will find out".

I don't believe this particular phrase or use of the word "ax" is in use at all nowadays.

Hi Phil

I think this must still be in use in parts of the West Country too, as we've recently recruited a "Brissel girly" at work, who uses ax for ask...

All the best

Dave

[Archaic]

'Resurrection Pie' , 'Area-Sneak'

From the 1870's and 1880's:

'Resurrection Pie': Once a school but now a common phrase, being used in reference to a pie supposed to be made of scraps and leavings that have been seen before.

Oh God, what a scary name for a meat pie- I had visions of Sweeney Todd!! I guess school-children suspected that their rather grim pie was made of left-over table scraps. (And it probably was, too.)

A synonymous term for 'Area-Thief' (see post above) was 'Area-Sneak'. I imagine that many 'area-sneaks' were hungry children trying to snatch a bit of food.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

'Area-Thief'

From 1874-

Area-thief: A thief who commits depredations upon kitchens and cellars.

In the UK the word "area" has a meaning that most Americans are not familiar with; it refers to an enclosed recessed space next to a building.

In the Victorian city, kitchens and cellars were often located below street level and accessed by steps leading down from the street level; because they were hidden from view they were popular targets for thieves.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Slap and Tickle

Hi everyone.

I've looked up "Slap and Tickle" and so far haven't found a definite phrase origin.

I'm pretty sure it's a 20th C. term; it has always struck me as sounding like a cleverly naughty phrase from my favorite era, the 1920's. The earliest use of it in print that I've seen so far in 1917, which would suggest that it's WWI-era slang.

I'm pretty sure that the first time I ever heard it used was in the eponymous song by Squeeze, but then I'm an American.

Best regards,
Archaic

[HelenaWojtczak]

Hi All,

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

I'd dearly love to know how this phrase started. Was slapping and tickling a woman what passed for foreplay in the c19th? I can't say it would get me going!

Helena

[Carol]

Hi Carol.

Here's an article claiming that Mortimer kept Edward II alive: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.u...orycode=176011

OK, back to Victorian slang!

Cheers,
Archaic

Hi Archaic,
Just read the article. Very interesting!
Carol

[Archaic]

Pearly King Founder's Funeral Procession

Hi Ruby. I think you'll like this then- a 1930 silent film of the sparkling funeral procession held in honor of the founder of the Pearly Kings, Henry Croft.

I just posted it on the East End Photos thread, post #3447: http://forum.casebook.org/showthread...611#post224611

Cheers,
Archaic

PS: I'd love to see a photo of one of your Pearly trays or boxes, can you pm me with a pic? Thanks!