Back In The Day

Recently a Facebook post has been making its way around my circle of friends.  Someone asked if it was true, to which I responded "I sure hope so, it's today's blog post.  The post is a list of "sorely missed Victorian slang".

For those, like me, who were unaware the Victorian era covers the duration of Queen Victoria's reign of the British Empire from her accession on June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901.  It is characterized by a class-based society, a growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, and Britain's status as the most powerful empire in the world.  Today "Victorian" connotes a prudish refusal to admit the existence of sex, hypocritically combined with constant discussions of sex (see number two), thinly veiled as a series of warnings.

And now the moment you have all been waiting for; a list of sorely missed Victorian slang:

1. Not up to dick (unwell)
2. Cupid's kettle drums (breasts)
3. Sauce-box (the mouth)
4. Poked up (embarrassed)
5. Tight as a boiled owl (drunk)
6. Got the morbs (temporary sadness)
7. Bitch the pot (pour the tea)
8. Gigglemug (always smiling)

My personal favorites are numbers two, five, and eight.  Now let's see how many we can bring back into day to day conversation.