| 18th Century Thieves Cant |
|---|
| People |
| People : General Descriptions of People |
|---|
| BLAB | one that is not to be confided in upon an Enterprize or Intrigue. | 1737 |
| BLAB | A tell-tale, or one incapable of keeping a secret | 1811 |
| BLANK | down looked, sheepish, guilty. | 1737 |
| BLANK | To look blank; to appear disappointed or confounded. | 1811 |
| BOUGHS | as He is up in the Boughs, said of one upon the Rant, or in a great Ferment. | 1737 |
| BOUGHS | He is up in the boughs; he is in a passion. | 1811 |
| BRAVADO | a vapouring, or bouncing. | 1737 |
| BURR | a Hanger on or Dependant. | 1737 |
| BURR | A hanger on, or dependant; an allusion to the field burrs, which are not easily got rid of. Also the Northumbrian pronunciation: the people of that country, but chiefly about Newcastle and Morpeth, are said to have a burr in their throats, particularly called the Newcastle burr. | 1811 |
| CHICKEN | a feeble little Creature, of mean Spirit. | 1737 |
| COCK-SURE | very sure. | 1737 |
| COCK-SURE | Certain: a metaphor borrowed front the cock of a firelock, as being much more certain to fire than the match. | 1811 |
| COCKISH | wanton, uppish, forward. | 1737 |
| COCKISH | Wanton, forward. A cockish wench; a forward coming girl. | 1811 |
| COOK RUFFIAN, who roasted the devil in his feath | A bad cook. | 1811 |
| COOK-RUFFIN | the Devil of a Cook; or a very bad one. | 1737 |
| People : People of Various Types |
|---|
| ALSATIANS | the Inhabitants of these two Places, such as broken Tradesmen, extravagant Spendthrifts. | 1737 |
| BOB-TROTTERS | Scotch or North Country Moss-troopers, or Highway-Men. | 1737 |
| BOG-LANDERS | Irish Men. | 1737 |
| BUTTER-BOXES | Dutchmen | 1737 |
| CLAN | a Family, Tribe, Faction, or Party, in Scotland chiefly, but now any where else. | 1737 |
| CLAN | A familys tribe or brotherhood; a word much used in Scotland. The head of the clan; the chief: an allusion to a story of a Scotchman, who, when a very large louse crept down his arm, put him back again, saying he was the head of the clan, and that, if injured, all the rest would resent it. | 1811 |
| DEAR JOYES | Irishmen | 1737 |
| DEAR JOYS | Irishmen: from their frequently making use of that expression. | 1811 |
| FORTUNE HUNTERS | Indigent men, seeking to enrich themselves by marrying a woman of fortune. | 1811 |
| FORTUNE-HUNTERS | Irishmen, Pursuers of rich Heiresses, etc. to obtain them in Marriage. A Creature of Fortune, one that lives by his Wit. | 1737 |
| FROG-LANDERS | Dutchmen. | 1737 |
| FROGLANDER | A Dutchman. | 1811 |
| JANIZARIES | the Mob, sometimes so called, and Bailiffs, Serjeants-Followers, yeomen, Setters, and any lewd Gang depending upon others. | 1737 |
| MOON RAKERS | Wiltshire men: because it is said that some men of that county, seeing the reflection of the moon in a pond, endeavoured to pull it out with a rake. | 1811 |
| PADDY | The general name for an Irishman: being the abbreviation of Patrick, the name of the tutelar saint of that island. | 1811 |
| POMPKIN | A man or woman of Boston in America: from, the number of pompkins raised and eaten by the people of that country. Pompkinshire; Boston and its dependencies. | 1811 |
| RED SHANK | A Scotch Highlander. | 1811 |
| RIFF RAFF | Low vulgar persons, mob, tag-rag and bob-tail. | 1811 |
| RIFF-RAFF | the Rabble or Scum of the People, Tagrag and Longtail. | 1737 |
| SAWNY or SANDY | A general nick-name for a Scotchman, as Paddy is for an Irishman, or Taffy for a Welchman; Sawny or Sandy being the familiar abbreviation or diminution of Alexander, a very favourite name among the Scottish nation. | 1811 |
| SCUM | the Riff-raff, or Tagrag and Longtail. | 1737 |
| SCUM | The riff-raff, tag-rag, and bob-tail, or lowest order of people. | 1811 |
| SEALER | one that gives Bonds and Judgement for Goods and Money. | 1737 |
| SEALER, or SQUEEZE WAX | One ready to give bond and judgment for goods or money. | 1811 |
| SMOUS | A German Jew. | 1811 |
| TAFFY, i.e | Davy. A general name for a Welchman, St. David being the tutelar saint of Wales. Taffys day; the first of March, St. Davids day. | 1811 |
| TEA GUELAND | Ireland. Teaguelanders; Irishmen. | 1811 |
| TEAGUE-LANDERS | Irishmen. | 1737 |
| YELLOW BELLY | A native of the Fens of Licoinshire; an allusion to the eels caught there. | 1811 |
| YORKSHIRE TYKE | A Yorkshire clown. To come Yorkshire over any one; to cheat him. | 1811 |
| YORKSHIRE-TIKE | a Yorkshire Manner of Man. | 1737 |
| YOUKELL | a countryman, or clown. | 1819 |
