OT: Re: "fork *up*" (July 1837), and other slang

[Robin Hamilton]

> For when that he hath nubbed us,
>  And our friends tips him no cole,
> He takes his Chive and cuts us down,
>  And tips us into the hole.
>
> -- "tips him no cole" would translate as "gives him no money".

For what it's worth, the going rate at the time for buying the dead body
back from the hangman and thus not having it interred in the communal hole
beneath the gallows (we're talking about a time before the surgeons get in
on the act) was 6s/8p.  (Six shillings and eight pence.  Seems quite a lot,
actually.)

Robin

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