Boxing slang from 1802, including "darken his daylights"

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Tue Aug 23 16:54:19 UTC 2011


While searching for "dim ... daylights" in EAN (not found), I came
across the following, which may (or may not) have some useful slang
somewhat related to or arising from boxing:

Columbian Minerva [Dedham, Mass.]; Date: 08-10-1802; Volume: VI;
Issue: 305; Page: [2]; article titled "A Boxing Match" and about the
expressions used.  The setting is a bout of fisticuffs in England,
probably taken from a British periodical.  The occupation and words
of each observer are given -- E.g., Watchmaker ("spring at him");
Sailor ("douce his glimms"); Fishmonger ("make him a flounder");
Butcher ("come Ben Boozel over his jaw bone") -- and Glazier ("Darken
his daylights").

I see "darken her daylights" is dated to 1752 by the OED, s.v.
"daylight", sense 4.  "Dim her daylights" from 1800 would add "dim"
to "beat, scare, etc., the (living) daylight(s)" and interdate  1752 -- 1821.

Joel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list