Ripper-Related Victorian Vocabulary

[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

[ChrisGeorge]

Kibosh might also be related to kebab.

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

[Archaic]

Hi Chris.

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

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]

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

[Robert]

Thanks for that, everyone. Great stuff.

[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]

Very nice site, Bunny.

I'm still trying to get over the Royal household job title "Yeoman of the Mouth to Her Majesty Queen Mary in the Pantry" which turned up in a Find My Past newsletter.

[Archaic]

Hi Robert.

What's a 'Yeoman of the Mouth', a wise-guy for royalty?

Sounds like your perfect job description.

Cheers,
Archaic

PS: Hmm, if he was a 'Yeoman of the Month' would he be some kind of a Royal "pinup boy"??

[Archaic]

"Autumn" = Execution By Hanging

Oops; back to the thread topic.

Here's a slang term I've never heard before: "Autumn".

From an 1870 work:

"Autumn, a Slang term for an execution by hanging.When the drop was introduced instead of the old gallows, cart, and ladder, and a man was for the first time "turned-off" in the present fashion, the mob were so pleased with the invention that they spoke of the operation as at Autumn, or the Fall Of The Leaf, (so., the drop,) with the man about to be hanged."


Sounds like someone in the mob attending the execution was of a poetic turn of mind.

Archaic

[Archaic]

"Dropped Off The Hooks"

Here's some Victorian slang with a gruesome history-"Dropped off the hooks."

"Hooks, "dropped off the hooks" —said of a deceased person—believed derived from the ancient practice of suspending on hooks the quarters of a traitor or felon sentenced by the old law to be hung, drawn, and quartered, which dropped off the hooks as they decayed."


Archaic

[Archaic]

"Hang-Dog" & "Scape-Gallows"

Here are two more execution-related words.

"Hang-dog" is of course an everyday phrase now used to describe a person who is shame-faced or downcast, or one who exhibits a dejected or guilty countenance or a furtive manner. One would think it comes from the image of a dejected or guilty-feeling dog hanging down his head in shame.

In fact, it comes from execution by hanging; people who appeared 'villainous' and likely to be hung were described as "hang-dog". "Hang-dog" could also be applied as an epithet.

Dictionary.com definition: "Hang-dog (adj.) also hangdog, 1670s, "befitting a hang-dog," a despicable, degraded fellow, so called either from notion of being fit only to hang a dog (cf. cutthroat) or of being a low person (i.e. dog) fit only for hanging. As a noun from 1680s."

"Scape-Gallows" was an epithet applied to one who had either escaped being caught for their crimes and hung, or was conducting themselves in such a knavish manner that they were believed likely to be headed for them. It was basically used an insult.

The phrase seems to have originated in print with Charles Dickens; he used the term "scape-gallows" in his novel 'Nicholas Nickelby'.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Bridewell]

Kibosh might also be related to kebab.

Is that Albert Kibosh, Chris?

Regards, Bridewell.

[Archaic]

"To Flash the Ivories"

"To Flash the Ivories" meant either to show one's teeth, or to be anatomised after execution. I think it must be a meaning along the lines of "to show one's bones" during dissection.

It dates to the days when the bodies of those who were executed were available to surgeons and medical schools who needed bodies for dissection.

People had a much greater horror of "being anatomised" than they did of being executed.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Magpie]

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

Such a scene is depicted near the end of "Plunkett and Mclean".