Obsolete Words

BELLY VENGEANCE: poor quality, sour beer so harsh it was said to take revenge on the drinker's stomach. Belly vengeance was sour beer so rough it seemed to take revenge on the drinker's stomach. Follow for more forgotten words.

BROZIER: to raid the school housekeeper's larder, stealing food when dinner fell short, or to bankrupt someone until they were cut down to a sixpence. To brozier was to raid the school larder, or to bankrupt a man until he had barely a sixpence left. Follow for forgotten words.

BLACKSTRAP: thick sweet port, or any common dark Mediterranean wine that sailors drank when better bottles were out of reach. Blackstrap once meant cheap dark port, the rough wine of sailors and taverns. Follow for more forgotten words.

DIZARD: a talkative fool or blockhead, once also the jester or stage fool who prattled nonsense for the crowd. A dizard was a prattling fool, half jester and half blockhead. Follow for more forgotten words.

ZIFF: a juvenile thief, a young cutpurse learning the trade among the underworld ranks. In London cant a ziff was a juvenile thief, not a bearded old man. Follow for more forgotten words.

AMUSER: a rogue who throws snuff or dust into a passerby's eyes so accomplices can rob them while pretending to help. An amuser was the distraction: snuff in the eyes, then the pockets emptied. Follow for more forgotten words.

SCULPIN: a mean or mischief making fellow, a troublemaker who stirs up bother the way a spiny fish stirs the mud. Once a sculpin was not only a fish but a mean mischief maker. Follow for more forgotten words.

NIPPER: a pickpocket or cutpurse, especially a young or petty thief skilled at slipping silver from a purse without ringing its warning bells. Long before it meant a child, a nipper was a cutpurse who nipped wallets in the crowd. Follow for more forgotten words.

SNAM: to steal or snatch something quickly, grabbing it from a stall, a pocket, or an unwatched table and making off before anyone could shout. To snam was to snatch and run before anyone noticed. Follow for more forgotten words.

SCARAMOUCHE: a boastful, disreputable fellow; a cowardly scoundrel and braggart who talks big, swaggers about, and slips away at the first sign of trouble. Before it was a Queen lyric, a Scaramouche was a swaggering coward and rogue. Follow for more forgotten words.

KIDDY: a low thief, a small time pickpocket or sneak who lifted handkerchiefs and purses from the crowds in busy city streets. Once a kiddy was not a child at all but a sly little thief. Follow for more forgotten words.

CORNY: tipsy and merry with drink, a little unsteady on the feet after one pint too many, cheerful and slightly flushed. Long before it meant a stale joke, corny meant a little drunk. Follow for more forgotten words.

SLATE: a dirty, slovenly person, unwashed and untidy, who looks as grubby and grey as a wet roof tile. Once you could call a grubby, unkempt person a slate. Follow for more forgotten words.

COMPANION: a fellow, used with open contempt; a low rogue or scurvy rascal, the kind of man a gentleman would never call his equal. In Shakespeare, calling a man a companion was a sneer, not a compliment. Follow for more forgotten words.

BOOBY: stupid, dull witted and slow, like a person who could be talked into anything and would believe every word of it. Long before the booby prize, booby simply meant stupid. Follow for more forgotten words.

MOBILITY: the mob; the common people or rabble, the noisy crowd of the street, named in mocking contrast to the nobility above them. A 17th century joke: if the lords were the nobility, the crowd was the mobility. Follow for more forgotten words.

MOLLISHER: a woman of the underworld, especially one who lives with a thief and shares his fortunes, his hideouts and his loot. Every Victorian thief had his mollisher, partner in crime and keeper of the swag. Follow for more forgotten words.

FIDDLE: to do odd jobs for money, scraping a living from whatever small work turns up on the street, a bit of carrying here, a bit of minding there. Victorian street slang for getting by on a few coins at a time. Follow for more forgotten words.

CORNED: drunk, thoroughly pickled in liquor, like salted beef left to soak in its brine until it can no longer stand up straight. Not drunk, just corned. Sounds almost respectable. Follow for more forgotten words.

CROSSMAN: a thief, forger or swindler who lives on the cross, old underworld slang for a dishonest life, as opposed to living on the square. Victorian crooks had a word for which side you were on. Follow for more forgotten words.