Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue - Softcover

Grose, Francis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1534780173 ISBN 13: 9781534780170

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

Synopsis

Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue Francis Grose Francis Grose (b. before 11 June 1731 – 12 June 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He was born at his father's house in Broad Street, St-Peter-le-Poer, London. His parents were Swiss immigrant and jeweller Francis Jacob Grose (d. 1769), and his wife, Anne (d. 1773), daughter of Thomas Bennett of Greenford in Middlesex. Grose was baptized on 11 June 1731 in the parish of St Peter-le-Poer.

About this title

From the Publisher:

You don’t need to be a philologist or an etymologist to become engrossed in this book on the "vulgar tongue," popular language and not crude or coarse talk. This is the classic of all classics. First published in 1785, this is a reprint of the third edition that appeared in 1931. It contains the fashionable words and favorite expressions of those olden days, many of which have endured to this day and others that have long since been abandoned. Who would ever think that a "damper" was a snack before dinner? On the other hand, some might agree that "poisoned" is an apt expression for "big with child." It is guaranteed that you will find much to chuckle over in this book when you come across such expressions as "belly cheat," which is defined as an apron. There are also terms that might very well match current practices, such as "whitewashed," which refers to "one who has taken the benefit of an act of insolvency to defraud his creditors." You won’t want to put this book down.

About the Author:

Francis Grose (1731-1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. Grose had early shown a keen interest in drawing, having attempted sketches of medieval buildings as far back as 1749, and having taken formal instruction at a drawing school in the mid-1750s. He was not a particularly gifted draughtsman but he mixed in the London artistic milieu and began to exhibit, first at the Society of Artists in 1767–8 and then at the Royal Academy. His interest was in the field of medieval remains, which were beginning to exercise an increasing grip on the public imagination. In 1772 he published the first part of The Antiquities of England and Wales, a work which he unashamedly aimed at the popular market. Essentially it targeted those who wanted to know about antiquities but had neither time nor means to visit them in person, and contained small panoramas of medieval ruins, together with an informative text on a separate page. Drawing on his own fieldwork Grose also branched out into producing dictionaries, including the famous A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785) and A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions (1787). Though intended to amuse they give an unusually vivid picture of the speech of the day which would not normally find inclusion in standard dictionaries, and contain in all about 9,000 terms which more scholarly works of the time habitually overlooked. He produced books on military antiquities and armour, as well as satirical essays and The Antiquities of Scotland.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1534780173
• ISBN 13: 9781534780170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208