Crime at the Old Bailey

[Joel S. Berson]

At 7/2/2010 12:24 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>That's how I read it.  If "p-----e" is "private," as it almost has to
>be "b------e" for "backside" seems extremely likely: less graphic, perhaps,
>for courtroom use  than the alternatives.
>
>BTW, I searched the entire Old Bailey site a few years back and sent Jesse
>and the OED all the slangy items I could pry out.
>
>There was a lot less than one might have expected.

If the Old Bailey is anything like colonial America, most crimes (or
at least in the newspaper reports) were property (primarily petty
larceny), personal injury, or murder.  I sometimes wonder what the
original manuscript records of colonial depositions and trials
contain, as opposed to their printed and published reports.  But
having delved into a few, where I knew exactly which cases I wanted
to look at, I do not recommend anyone reading them in bulk.  Scrawled
handwriting, faded documents, faint microfilm.

Joel

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