1800's Slang Words
- ace-high - Excellent
- according to Hoyle - by the book, done correctly
- arbuckle's - coffee
- at sea - not understanding
- back down - to retreat or yield, or to be made to do so
- balled up - confused
- bend an elbow - to dring
- bilk - cheat
- blow - boast or brag
- bosh - nonsense
- boss - the best
- burg - town
- calaboose - jail
- consumption - tuberculosis
- croaker - pessimist
- curly wolf - a tough guy
- dicker - to barter or trade
- directly - soon
- dreadful or powerful - very
- dude - a fop or overly-elegant male
- fetch - bring or give
- fish - a cowboy's raincoat (a popular brand had a fish logo)
- fuss - a disturbance
- game - to have courage
- give in - yield
- goner - someone who is going to die or lose
- grand - Excellent
- granger - a farmer
- heap - a lot, many
- offish - aloof, distant
- proud - glad
- rich - amusing and improbable
- scuttlebutt - rumors
- skedaddle - leave quickly
- shoddy - poor quality
- soaked - drunk
- stumped - confused
- twig - understand
- up the spout - gone to waste or ruin
- wind up - settle up (pronounced as WINED instead of WINNED)
Some phrases you might have heard then:
- you woke up the wrong passenger - you angered the wrong person
- all down but nine - you missed the point ( reference to nine-pin Bowling)
- get your back up - to get angry
- light a shuck - to leave
- between hay and grass - half-grown, neither man nor boy
- best bib and tucker - your best clothes
- beat the devil around the stump - to avoid doing something
- go through the mill - to gain experience the hard way
- see the elephant - to gain experience or to experience action
- shoot your mouth off - to talk when you should have said nothing
- the whole kit and caboodle - everything
- to beat the band or to beat the Dutch - more than ever
- throw in the sponge or towel - to surrender
- someone to ride the river with or someone to tie to - someone to rely upon
- blue at the mizzen - "on a high horse", haughty
Check out the Devil's Dictionary on Answers.com (see related link). It includes a lot of old English slang.
