[Ads-l] Bad language of the 1890s

[Jonathan Lighter]

A few years ago Archeophone Records, which is dedicated to preserving early
sound recordings, unearthed a cache of cylinders of humorously bawdy
material made during the 1890s.

The sound quality is mostly very good. The actors have that New England
sound I associate with movies of the 1930s. (Except when they do dialect -
mainly Irish - which is often.)

Rather than transcribe in detail, I'll drum up some business for
Archeophone by just listing the naughty language that I hear.

When the CD (called "Actionable Offenses") was reviewed by NPR, everyone
expressed surprise  that the language sounded so modern.  Except for
"scrouge," which is the only word they quoted.


All the old, basic sexual and physiological terms are audible, from "ass"
to "titties," but except as noted, I heard literal senses only. ("Tit" is
also applied to a cow's "teat.")  Interestingly, "ass" is just as often
pronounced as "arse," even in the non-Irish skits.

I haven't bothered to check dates for these. I believe the HDAS files can
antedate most of them, at least by a few years.

stand, hard-on, n. an erection.

"anything that wears hair":  man or beast.

back-scuttle, n. anal intercourse

banana, pecker, prick, pricker, pudding, tool, boogey-boo (both syls. with
/ u / ), n. penis.

jerk, v.t. (of either sex) to masturbate.

bowel-starter, cunt-robber, kidney-wiper, liver-disturber, Long Tom,
pillow-tickler: a large penis.

French fashion, n. (of copulation) oral.

"a little game of sink-the-weenie," "going to sink my sausage"

poop, v. t. to void excrement.

pooper, n. anus.

brown, n. anus; anal sex.

pecker-shop, sausage-factory, n. brothel.

Oh, shit!

double-asshole, adj. "I ain't goin' around this double-asshole town any
longer."

get your flesh scraped: (of a man) to have sex.

screw, scrouge, cram:   (of a man) to copulate with.

tear off a piece: (of a man) to copulate.

cunt, bag, n. prostitute.   ("Every old bag is named Maud!")

----, my ass!  (negation)

Go shit in your hat, you damned old bladder!

Go and scratch your arse!

spend, v. to ejaculate

diddle, v. (of either sex) to copulate.

box, gash, snatch, n. vulva and vagina.

stones, n.pl. testes

Shit on: to treat with disdain; (also app. as an imprecation).

pussycat, n. vulva. ("Pussy" is not heard.)

"like shit through a goose"

"She wouldn't go down,...Now she eats 'em alive."

"I don't give a shit!"

make a ballocks of:  wreck, spoil; "ball up."


Bonus!:

The practice of inventing absurd double-entendre names (like "I. P. Daily")
is present with "Ophelia Openhole."

And  "ballet" is anglicized to  / 'b@ lIt/

I have not had access to the 60pp booklet that transcribes all the
recordings. Perhaps the engineers were able to hear some passages more
clearly.

Some of the people behind the original recordings went to jail.

The CD, however, was nominated for a Grammy Award.

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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