The slang coming out of Victorian mouths was more colorful than you might think. A 1909 collection of contemporary slang records clever terms for everything from a bald head to the act of sidling through a crowd. Plus, how to remember the difference...
J. Redding Ware’s 1909 Passing English of the Victorian Era preserves slang that would otherwise vanish with the voices that used it. Its entry for please mother open the door even prints a staff of music, explaining that the phrase expressed...

