What swear words were used in the Victorian era?

Check out The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s by Marc McCutcheon….

• Balls – shortened from ballocks.
• Bootlicker – same as ass-licker.
• Cherry – vulgar term for a young woman.
• Quim – female genitalia.
• Strumpet – a whore.
• Blazes – hell or the devil.
• Cussed – cursed or mean.
• Dratted – expletive or used for damned.

Did people swear a lot in the past?

The use of swear words in most public situations decades ago was quite limited. Certainly the language existed, but it was limited to bars, private conversations, etc. Never on tv and not that much even in movies. , 10+ years old school music blogger and Spotify curator.

When was swearing first used?

We don’t know how the earliest speakers of English swore, because it wasn’t written down. Before the 15th century – which is when swearing first appeared in writing – most writing was done by monks, and they were too good, and their work too important, for them to write down swear words.

Did the Tudors swear?

If we go back to the Tudor and Stuart periods we find that swearing was mainly a religious issue. Between 1603 and 1820 in England, laws were passed criminalising swearing with the punishment being a fine or some time in the stocks.

Did people curse in the Victorian era?

Coupled with the tantalizing but few Victorian examples of obscenities that have come down to us, it seems safe to say that by the 1860s, and perhaps even earlier, people in America and Britain were swearing much as they do today.

Did they say the F-word in the 1800s?

The F-word in the dictionary. The F-word was recorded in a dictionary in 1598 (John Florio’s A Worlde of Wordes, London: Arnold Hatfield for Edw. The word became rarer in print in the 18th century when it came to be regarded as vulgar. It was even banned from the Oxford English Dictionary.

Did the Victorians swear?

They could work, swear, drink, have premarital sex (as long as they didn’t get pregnant, or could force a marriage if they did), and walk the streets unescorted (not always safe, but still permissible). It’s hard to say which was preferable, but contrasts like this were one of the hallmarks of Victorian society.

Did they swear in medieval times?

While medieval people may have seen these words as somewhat impolite, they rarely found them obscene. Instead, they took it much more important when people swore oaths. Mohr explains, “these words were offensive for two reasons.

What curse words did they use in the 1700s?

25 Great Insults From 18th-Century British Slang

• Addle Pate. “An inconsiderate foolish fellow.”
• Back Biter. “One who slanders another behind his back, i.e. in his absence.”
• A Blowse, or Blowsabella.
• Blunderbuss.
• Bob Tail.
• Bull Calf.
• Corny-Faced.
• Death’s Head Upon a Mop-Stick.

Did they say the F word in the 1800s?

What insults were used in the 1800s?

Brutal Insults From the 1800s That Demand a Comeback

• Church bell. A talkative woman. Example: “Hey man, sorry I’m late.
• Hedge-creeper. A prostitute, who presumably works in the countryside (“creeper” could also be substituted for “prowler” or “ranger”)
• Mumbling cove. A shabby person or an unpleasant, deceitful landlord.

How has the nature of swearing changed over the years?

The frisson of a profane oath in early modern England depended upon the parallel reverence for the solemn oath. As the two drifted apart, and as reverence for oaths dwindled, society’s tolerance of swearing grew, and the nature of swearing changed. What now counts as swearing is very different from what outraged people 400 years ago.

Why did the British swear so much in the 19th century?

In the first half of the 19th-c. the British upper classes may have sworn more than the lower middle classes. The spread of Non-Conforming religion (e.g., Methodism) among the lower-middles ended a lot of 18th-c. bawdiness. The more Anglican upper classes still swore just as they had in Georgian times.

Should these Victorian insults be brought back into the vernacular?

Below are the definitions for these Victorian insults, plus 14 more rude words that we definitely think should be integrated back into modern vernacular. The information comes courtesy of Chambers Slang Dictionary by Jonathon Green, a noted author of several old-time urban dictionaries.

When did swearing become a crime in the UK?

Statutes passed between the reigns of James I (1603–1625) and George III (1760–1820) criminalised swearing. These laws drew careful distinctions between swearing and cursing, imposed fines or the stocks, and banded the penalties according to social rank.