Regency Expressions Collected from the Pages of
Georgette Heyer
|
| Expression |
Definition |
| 'pon rep |
polite exclamation |
| a fudge |
false rumour |
| a trifle disguised |
slightly drunk |
| all the crack |
very fashionable |
| ape-drunk |
very drunk |
| bag of moonshine |
lot of nonsense |
| bamboozle |
trick |
| Banbury stories |
falsehoods |
| bandy words |
talk |
| bang up to the mark |
on time |
| barque of frailty |
woman of easy virtue |
| base<-born child |
illegitimate offspring |
| be with malt above water |
be drunk |
| beautiful stepper |
fine piece of horseflesh |
| become a tenant for life |
marry |
| befogged |
confused |
| being cupped |
have blood taken/let |
| bellows to mend with |
boxing term - having the wind knocked out - this may happen to a young buck who sees
an attractive woman |
| beneath my touch |
not good enough |
| Bird of Paradise |
woman of easy virtue |
| bit of muslin |
woman of easy virtue |
| bleed very freely |
give lots of money |
| Blue Ruin |
gin |
| bluestocking |
academic female |
| blunt |
money |
| bone-setters |
poor quality horses |
| boot is quite on the other leg |
the situation is quite the reverse |
| bosky |
drunk |
| bouncer |
lie |
| brought to Point Non Plus |
in a situation with no options |
| by-blows |
illegitimate children |
| calf-clingers |
pantaloons |
| calf-love |
immature love of a young man |
| Canterbury tales |
lies |
| carte-blanche |
an offer by a gentleman that includes living under his protection, but not marriage |
| cat-lap |
milk - champagne if used as a joke |
| cattle |
horses |
| chitterlings |
inside parts of the pig |
| civil whiskers |
polite small talk |
| cleaned out |
has no money |
| cock-sure |
proud and confident |
| colour up |
to blush |
| commonplace mind |
dirty or vulgar mind |
| convenients |
women of easy virtue |
| corky |
bright and lively |
| cry rope on someone |
give them away, tell secrets etc |
| cucumberish |
to have no money |
| cut a wheedle |
ingratiate self with someone by lying |
| cut up my peace |
disturb me |
| cutting shams |
lying |
| Cythereans |
mistresses |
| damned hum |
false rumour, lie, trick etc |
| damned low water with me |
have no money, be in debt |
| dangling after |
hanging about, enamoured of |
| dibs not in tune |
to be in poor financial state |
| dicked in the nob |
crazy |
| dipping rather deep |
drinking quite heavily |
| displays to advantage |
fights well - boxing cant |
| doing it much too brown |
overdoing it so that it is not credible |
| done to a cow's thumb |
fatigued to the point of illness/fainting |
| draw someone's cork |
punch in the nose and cause to bleed |
| drawing the bustle too freely |
spending too much money |
| drive unicorn |
drive a vehicle with 3 horses, 1 in front of 2 others |
| drunk as a wheelbarrow |
very drunk |
| dudgeon |
bad mood |
| Dun territory |
debt |
| eaten Hull cheese |
drunk |
| elbow-crooker |
drinker |
| fagged to death |
exhausted, tired |
| fair gutfounded |
very hungry |
| fairly flush in the pockets |
quite rich |
| faradiddles |
lies |
| fiend seize it |
damn it |
| find oneself on the rocks |
to have no money, be in debt |
| find self at a stand |
to have no money |
| fit of the blue-devils |
depressed |
| Flash of Lightning |
gin |
| flat |
person, able to be tricked |
| fly a kite |
raise money |
| fly to the time of day |
wise to the ways of the world |
| flying one's colours |
blushing |
| foxed |
drunk |
| free-traders |
smugglers |
| Friday-faced |
sad looking |
| full of juice |
very rich |
| fustian nonsense |
rubbish |
| gabster |
person who talks a lot |
| gammon |
trick |
| gingerbread |
money |
| gobble-cock |
turkey (less important than a Duke) |
| grease someone in the fist |
bribe them |
| hadn't an ounce of steel in her |
not strong-willed |
| half-sprung |
tipsy, not fully drunk |
| hang on someone's sleeve |
to let self be supported financially |
| haven't a sixpence to scratch with |
have no money |
| havey-cavey business |
suspicious goings-on |
| Haymarket ware |
low class prostitutes |
| high in the instep |
haughty, proud |
| hobble |
as in to be in a hobble or a predicament |
| in quite deep |
in debt |
| in the suds |
to be in trouble |
| Incognitas |
higher class prostitutes |
| inexpressibles |
breeches |
| jug-bitten |
drunk |
| kick up a lark |
get up to mischief |
| knocked-up |
exhausted, tired |
| lady-bird |
woman of easy virtue |
| land a facer |
punch in the face |
| Lawks |
vulgar exclamation |
| leech |
doctor |
| leg-shackled |
married |
| light o' love |
mistress |
| light-skirts |
women of easy virtue |
| Lud |
polite exclamation |
| make a cake of oneself |
make a fool of self |
| make a May game of someone |
fool someone |
| make a mull of something |
to make a mess of it |
| make an offer |
propose marriage |
| making indentures |
drinking |
| mawkish |
sentimental |
| miff |
ie to get into a miff or bad mood |
| mill |
brawl, fight |
| neck-or-nothing young blood of the Fancy |
a very sporty young nobleman |
| never a feather to fly with |
to have no money |
| not a mean bit yet |
still attractive |
| not give a tinker's damn |
not care |
| notoriously picksome |
fussy |
| Old Tom |
gin |
| on the cut |
on a drinking binge |
| on-dit |
gossip |
| Paphians |
women of easy virtue |
| parting company |
falling off horse |
| peculiar |
woman of easy virtue |
| peep-of-day boy |
someone always involved in kicking up larks etc |
| Pinkest of the Pinks |
a very fashionable man |
| pitching the gammon |
lying |
| plant a facer |
punch in the face |
| pluck to the backbone |
brave |
| plume yourself on something |
to be proud of it |
| plumper |
lie |
| pockets to let |
has no money |
| prime articles |
women of easy virtue |
| prime bit of blood |
fine piece of horseflesh |
| properly shot in the neck |
drunk |
| pudding-house |
stomach |
| purse-pinched |
have little money |
| queer as Dick's hatband |
ill-looking, faint looking |
| raise a breeze |
make a fuss |
| raising some kind of breeze |
up to some mischief |
| rake |
a man who has all the vices has attracted and perhaps "ruined" many women |
| ready to sport one's canvas |
eager to fight |
| regular out and outer |
person of high spirit, awake on every suit, and with enviable abilities |
| ring a fine peal over someone |
yell at them, scold them |
| riveted |
married |
| rolled-up |
to have no money |
| run quite off one's legs |
have no money |
| scrape |
as in "devil's own scrape" or a predicament |
| screw |
not a very good horse |
| set up someone's bristles |
to make them angry |
| set your cap at someone |
aim to snare them for marriage |
| shamming it |
lying |
| shine everyone else down |
be the most attractive |
| shockingly loose in the haft |
has many vices, and little respect for proprieties |
| shoot the crow |
leave in a hurry without paying |
| sick as a cushion |
very ill |
| side-slips |
illegitimate children |
| slum |
rubbish, nonsense |
| Spanish coin |
untrue flattery |
| Stark Naked |
gin |
| started in the petticoat line |
associating with women of easy virtue, a practice frowned on at Oxford |
| strait-laced |
upholding the proprieties, prudish |
| stricken in years |
quite old |
| swallow one's spleen |
control one's anger |
| sweep/make a magnificent leg |
bow deeply, and a little theatrically |
| sweet-goer |
fine piece of horseflesh |
| swell of the first stare |
a very fashionable man |
| swimming in lard |
very rich |
| tap-hackled |
drunk |
| Tare an' hounds |
exclamation |
| tempting armful |
attractive female |
| the devil to pay |
trouble |
| throwing a rub in the way |
spoiling the plans |
| Thunder an' turf |
exclamation |
| tie one's garter in public |
do something extremely shocking |
| to be in the basket |
be in lots of trouble |
| toad-eaten |
flattered and made up to |
| toilette |
outfit |
| too ripe and ready by half |
always up to something |
| too smoky by half |
very suspicious |
| top-heavy |
drunk |
| Top-of-the Trees |
someone/thing of high esteem |
| top-sawyer |
person who handles horses superbly |
| trollops |
women of easy virtue |
| trotting too hard |
doing too much, exhausting yourself |
| try to break someone's shins |
borrow money |
| turn someone up sweet |
ingratiate self with by lying |
| vowels |
IOUs |
| want to pull caps with someone |
want to argue with them |
| wanton |
woman of easy virtue |
| well-inlaid |
rich |
| windmill dwindled to a nutshell |
to lose one's money |
| winged |
injured in the arm, usually the shoulder |
| wish someone at Jericho |
find them in the way |
| within ames-ace |
near |
