Victorian & Edwardian Words and Insults

Street slang, American coinages and music-hall words first recorded between 1837 and 1910 — some of it written down by J. Redding Ware in 1909.

Shown: The Two Central Figures in "Derby Day" — William Powell Frith, 1860 · The Met, public domain

1839Scallywaginsult · nounA troublemaker or rascal, now said fondly. American English from 1839 — usually spelled scalawag there — and once a bitter political insult.
1845bloviateword · verbTo talk at length in a pompous, boastful, empty way. A Midwestern American word of the 1840s–50s built on 'blow' on the model of 'deviate'; it faded, then revived in the 1920s around President Warren G. Harding's ornate speeches and again in the 2000s, now mostly of politicians and pundits.
1845Great Scottoath · interjectionAn exclamation of surprise or dismay. Its origin is uncertain: it is usually taken as a stand-in for 'Great God!', and 19th-century writers linked it to the famous (and very large) US general Winfield Scott; other theories are unproven.
1845Snollygosterinsult · nounA clever person with no principles, especially a politician. American slang first recorded in 1845, when it may have meant something else entirely.
1851spondulicksword · noun (plural)Money, cash. American slang of the 1850s of unknown origin (sometimes said to be from a Greek word for a shell used as money); it faded in the US but survived in British English.
1852poppycockword · nounFoolish talk; nonsense. An American word of the 1850s, usually said to come from a Dutch dialect word meaning 'soft dung' (the OED doubts that exact Dutch form, pointing to Dutch poppekak instead); the rude origin was forgotten and it became a genteel way of saying 'rubbish!'.
1859Lollygagword · verbTo dawdle, dally or waste time. American English from 1859 — though an older spelling, lallygag, was there first.
1859Skedaddleword · verbTo leave in a hurry; to run away. Popularised as American Civil War slang by the newspapers in the summer of 1861.
1872masherinsult · nounA dandified man who fancies himself irresistible and forces his attentions on women, especially strangers in public; also, more loosely, a fashionable young man about town. American slang of the 1870s; it was already appearing in British print by 1875 and became a London catchword in the early 1880s.
1875bounderinsult · nounA man of vulgar or dishonourable behaviour who does not keep to the accepted rules of polite society — often a flashy social climber. Originally British university and society slang; earlier the word also meant a jolting four-wheeled cab.
1876Zounderkiteinsult · nounAn idiot — a stupid, blundering person. Shared as Victorian slang from the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, where it does not appear; it is in fact a Yorkshire dialect word, recorded in 1876.
1879rotterinsult · nounA thoroughly worthless, objectionable or morally rotten person; a scoundrel. British slang of the late 19th century, built from 'rot' + '-er'.
1883(as “blimy”)blimeyoath · interjectionAn exclamation of surprise, disbelief or exasperation. It is a worn-down form of the working-class oath '(God) blind me!'.
1883Mutton shunterinsult · nounVictorian slang for a policeman — recorded in 1909 as police slang, dated there to 1883.
1883(as “struth”)strewthoath · interjectionA mild oath expressing surprise or adding emphasis. It is a clipped form of 'God's truth!'. Common in late-Victorian British slang and later strongly associated with Australia.
1891gorblimeyoath · interjectionA Cockney exclamation of surprise, anger or emphasis, representing a street pronunciation of 'God blind me!'. Ware called it 'a gutter phrase'.
1900maffickingword · noun (also verb: maffick)Wild, rowdy public celebration of a victory. It was coined as a pun on Mafeking, the South African garrison town whose relief on 17 May 1900 set off riotous street celebrations in London; the verb 'to maffick' was back-formed from it.
1904gongoozlerword · nounAn idle, curious onlooker who stands and stares for a long time at anything unusual — originally canal-workers' slang for people who watch the boats from the towpath or a lock. Popularised by L. T. C. Rolt's Narrow Boat (1944).
1909Chuckabooword · nounA pet name for a close friend — Victorian slang recorded in 1909, whose own recorder said it meant nothing at all.
1909Gigglemuginsult · nounVictorian street slang for a face that is always smiling; today it is also used for the person wearing it.
1909Whooperupinsult · nounA bad, noisy singer. Victorian theatre and entertainment slang, recorded in 1909 in the plural: whooperups.