This comprehensive volume examines the origins, evolution, and social context of cant and slang from the sixteenth century to the Victorian era. The author meticulously separates true cant—the secret jargon of vagabonds, gypsies, and criminals—from modern slang, which is fluid, evanescent, and common to all social classes. The text traces how words travel across languages and borders, gathering terms from the Romaic, Hindostanee, Celtic, and various European tongues. Major sections detail the historical development of cant among vagrant fraternities, explore the secret hieroglyphics and finger-posts used by tramps to mark hospitable or hostile doors, and survey the specialized vocabularies of universities, the stage, parliament, and the street.
The work also includes an extensive reprint of Thomas Harman's sixteenth-century glossary, preserving the archaic spelling and providing a direct window into the underworld language of Elizabethan England. The argument throughout demonstrates that vulgar speech is not merely a corruption of grammar, but a vital, ever-shifting mechanism that constantly feeds standard English through metaphor and popular adaptation. The narrative concludes with a massive reference dictionary cataloguing hundreds of colloquial terms, money synonyms, and thieves' cant used in daily modern intercourse.
