apple — elppa
bad - dab
barrow — war-rab
bed - deb
beer — reeb
best - zeb
bit — tib
boots — stoobs
bottom — mottab
boy — yob or yobbo (not derogatory to the Victorians.)
bread — da-erb
cabbage — edgabac
cap — pac
carrots — storracs
cherries — sir-etch
crown — yenork (five shilling piece, not the throne)
day — yad
eight — theg
eleven — nevelè, or levem
farthing — nitraf
fat — taff
fish — shif
five — evif
four — rouf
gin — nig (presumably nij)
girl — elrig
gold — dlog
good - doog
greens - neergs
half — flatch
ha'penny — flacth yennep
hat — tatch
have — vatch
head — dee-aitch
horse — esrotch
hot — totch
house (1) — birk
house (2) — soosh
knife — efink
look — cool
maid — miad
man — nam (men — nems?)
market — tekram
moon — noom
nine — enin
no — on
nuts — stuns
old — dillo
one — eno
parson — nosrap
pay up — yarpoo
pear — rape
penny — yennep
pint — tinep
police (1) — esclop
police (2) — slop
policeman — namesclop
potatoes — rutats
pot boy — top yob
pound — dunop
quart — track or trag
rain — nire
shilling — gen (back slang?)
shoe — seeo
six - exis
sort — tross (perhaps only in the phrase tross-eno — a poor day's trading.)
spinach — spinsrap
table — elbat
talk — klat
tall — lawt
three — earth (later also erf)
tobacco — occabot
trousers — reswort
twelve — evlenet
two — oat
walnuts — stunlaws
week — kew
when — new
woman — namus/namer.
women — namers
yes — say
References
Hotten, John Camden, A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant and Vulgar Words. 2nd Edition, 1860
Mayhew, Henry. London Labour and the London Poor. Vol 1, 1851
Related Material
- Earth Yenneps: Victorian Back Slang
- "Weeping Willow" stands for "Pillow": Victorian Rhyming Slang
- The Meanings of Posh
- Then and Now: Posh, Toff, and the Victorians
Last modified 23 January 2007