CONTENTS.
A SHORT HISTORY OF SLANG, OR THE VULGAR LANGUAGE OF FAST LIFE.
Slang at Babylon and Nineveh — Old English Slang — Slang in the time of Cromwell, and in the Court of Charles II. — Swift and Arbuthnot fond of Slang — The origin of "Cabbage" — "The Real Simon Pure" — Tom Brown and Ned Ward — Did Dr Johnson compile a Slang Dictionary? — John Bee's absurd etymology of Slang — The true origin of the term — Derived from the Gipsies — Burns and his fat friend, Grose — Slang used by all classes, High and Low — Slang in Parliament, and amongst our friends — New words not so reprehensible as old words burdened with strange meanings — The poor Foreigner's perplexity — Long and windy Slang words — Vulgar corruptions, 33-42
Fashionable Slang, 42
Parliamentary Slang, 45
Military and Dandy Slang, 47
University Slang, 48
Religious Slang, 49
Legal Slang, or Slang amongst the Lawyers, 52
Literary Slang — Punch on "Slang and Sanscrit," 53
Theatrical Slang, or Slang both before and behind the curtain, 56
Civic Slang, 57
Slang Terms for Money — Her Majesty's coin is insulted by one hundred and thirty distinct Slang terms — Old Slang terms for money — The classical origin of Slang money-terms — The terms used by the Ancient Romans vulgarisms in the Nineteenth Century, 58-61
Shopkeepers' Slang, 61
Workmen's Slang, or Slang in the workshop — Many Slang terms for money derived from operatives, 62
Slang Apologies for Oaths, or sham exclamations for passion and temper — Slang swearing, 63
Slang Terms for Drunkenness, and the graduated scale of fuddlement and intoxication, 64
DICTIONARY OF MODERN SLANG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS; many with their etymologies traced, together with Illustrations, and references to authorities, 65-274
Some Account of the Back Slang, the secret language of Costermongers — The principle of the Back Slang — Boys and girls soon acquire it — The Back Slang unknown to the Police — Costermongers' terms for money — Arithmetic amongst the Costermongers, 275-279
Glossary of the Back Slang, 280-284
Some Account of the Rhyming Slang, the secret language of Chaunters and Patterers — The origin of the Rhyming Slang — Spoken principally by Vagabond Poets, Patterers, and Cheap Jacks — Patterers "well up" in Street Slang — Curious Slang Letter from a Chaunter, 285-288
Glossary of the Rhyming Slang, 289-292
The Bibliography of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Language, or a list of the books which have been consulted in the compilation of this work, comprising nearly every known treatise upon the subject, 293-305