A little trifle for
all those wordsmiths
and curious souls
who read Historicals
and want to know the
meaning behind some
mysterious Regency
terms and phrases.
The author has tried,
with varying success,
to keep her oft-times
nonsensical opinions
to a minimum.
Addle-pate: foolish
or stupid fellow.
Also “not right
in the upper stories.”
Almack’s: That
venerable institution
in London whose vaunted
doors were closed
to all those people
not deemed suitable
by the seven patronesses
of the day: the Ladies
Cowper, Jersey, Castlereagh,
Sefton, Princess Esterhazy,
Countess Lieven, and
Mrs. Drummond Burrell.
To receive a “voucher” granting
entrance to the place
was of supreme importance
to all those balancing
on the tipsy social
ladder in Town (especially
those on the Marriage
Mart.) The food and
drink were abominable:
watered down lemonade
and stale finger food.
Antidote: an unattractive
woman. Also known
as an “ape-leader
in hell” if
she was past her prime.
Whoever says the modern
age is awash in bad
manners has never
been called an ape-leader
in hell.
Article: “She’s
a prime article.” A
beautiful woman. Sounds
more like a compliment
for a horse.
Bamming: to tease
someone
Bandied
about: gossiped
about
Bang-up: dashing,
or quite the thing,
i.e. “We had
a bang-up, good time.”
Billet
doux: French
for love letter.
Bird-of-paradise: a mistress or kept
woman, aka, a light
skirt, a bit of muslin,
a high flyer, or fancy
piece, doxy, a Cyprian.
There were so many
words for prostitutes
that one wonders if
gentlemen had so little
to do that they spent
a ridiculous amount
of time just sitting
around their clubs
thinking up new words
to describe the oldest
profession in the
world.
Blue
Ruin: Devilishly
bad—or good—gin,
depending on whether
or not a man liked
to feel ruinously
drunk one evening
followed by ruinously
ill the following
morning.
Bouncer: a lie, aka,
a clanker.
Bounder: a terrible
cad.
Bottom: courage,
grit (makes you wonder
what “top” meant
. . .), i.e. “The
gentleman had bottom
when he rode “neck
or nothing” to
win the race.”
Bran-faced: freckled
Busk: a long rod
(usually ivory) used
as support in the
front of a lady’s
corset. They made
today’s Victoria
Secret lingerie look
like child’s
play.
Cake: “make
a cake of himself.” To
make a fool of oneself.
Carriages:
 » Cabriolet: Designed
in France, a light
2 wheeled carriage
drawn by one horse.
» Barouche: A
carriage that could
be driven by 2, 4
or 6 horses, this
vehicle featured a
fold-back type top.
» Curricle: Similar
to a cabriolet
although it is drawn
by 2 horses. The Prince
Regent favored
this vehicle.
» Landau: Very
common and versatile
coach which was pulled
by 2 horses and
could seat 4 people.
The vehicle had
a hood which could
be folded back.
» Drag: Resembling
mail coaches,
they were 4-wheeled
coaches with extra
seats on the back
to carry 2 grooms.
Often they had crests
emblazoned on
the sides.
» Phaeton: A
light 4-wheeled
carriage drawn by
up to 3 pairs of
horses. They featured
a very high seat
and seem like
they were the “sports
car” of
the “fast
set.”
» Town
Coach: Used for formal occasions,
this elegant,
large carriage could
carry 4 people and
was drawn by up to
6 horses.
Carte-blanche: French
for “blank
check.” English
for “If you
come with me, little
lady, I’ll give
you a platinum American
Express card with
no spending limit.”
Cattle: horses, usually
carriage horses.
Chit: a young girl.
Cicisbeo: a very
pretty word for a
very bad wife’s
boy toy.
Class
system:
» The
Upper Ten Thousand,
the ton, the haut ton,
the Beau Monde, the
aristocracy, peerage,
upper crust society:
Many words for
a distinctly small
number of people
lucky enough to
be born to titles
usually earned
by their courageous
ancestors.
» The
Gentry or the landed
gentry: Those who
wish they had a title
to go with the property
they own or inherited.
As with the aristocracy,
most property
was entailed meaning
property had to
be passed down
to the relative outlined
in the Patented
Letters of Nobility.
They at least
got to snub their
noses at people who
practiced a trade.
» The
Merchant class or “in
trade”: The
next level of
the food chain.
In England, the
merchant class
was considered
vulgar. Yes, it
was considered
in poor taste
to actually go
out and earn your
living. (Why wasn’t
I born during
this time, I ask
you, when being
lazy was considered
chic?) But they
at least had the
pleasure of having
servants and ordering
them around.
» Servants: Need
one explain? Servants’ working
hours were atrocious,
typically. If
you worked yourself
to the bone, with
little time off,
no vacations,
etc. but were
lucky enough to
work for an “enlightened” master
you might get
a small pension
after 20 or 30
years of hard
labor.
» The
masses: None
of the above.
Coup
de foudre: French
for love at first
sight. Literally it
means: a bolt of lightning.
Coze: a quiet chat.
Cry
off: to jilt
someone.
Curtain
lecture: A man in bed received
this frequently if
he had a nag for a
wife. A man like this
was known to “live
under the cat’s
paw.” Most women
who dared to behave
this way risked having
a switch taken to
them. The law allowed
husbands to beat their
wives as long as the
switch was no thicker
than a thumb.
Dandy: an overdressed
male prig sometimes
called a “macaroni.”
Dressed
in “the
first stare” of
fashion: someone on
the cutting edge of
fashion.
Dun
territory: about
to face creditors
with empty pockets.
Also known as “under
the hatches.”
Facer: a punch
in the face (not
a face in the punch.)
Fischu: a cloth
(usually lace) draped
around the neck
and tucked into
a lady’s bodice
to give the illusion
of modesty.
Fly
into the boughs: to become very angry
or upset.
Foxed: drunk as
a skunk. Other terms
for the same condition:
top heavy, fuddled,
flustered, cup-shot,
to be in one’s
altitudes, or deep
in one’s cups.
When this occurred,
the lucky devil
sometimes “cast
up his accounts,” a
nice way of saying
he tossed up his
cookies.
French
leave: to
leave without notice.
As if the dear French
(who were kind enough
to let the English
use their pretty
language to hide
some rude English
behavior –see
Congé, carte-blanche
above) would leave
without saying “au
revoir” or “adieu!” That’s
fustian (see below.)
Fustian: nonsense.
Go
aloft: to die.
Way too many words
for this final state:
to cock one’s
toes, go off, go
home, got notice
to quit, pop off,
put to bed with
a shovel.
Green
girl: an
inexperienced, young
girl. Not to be
confused with “green
room” which
was where the young
bucks in London
went to meet the
women/actresses
who were the very
opposite of green
girls.
Gretna
Green: the
first town after
crossing into Scotland.
Couples could marry
there without a
license or without
benefit of reading
the banns in their
parish church for
several weeks.
Hen-hearted: cowardly
Hipped: melancholy
Hoyden: an outrageous
girl.
In
a coil: In a
pickle
In
a pickle: used
when one is tired
of saying “in
a coil.”
Incomparable: an
incredibly beautiful
woman. Also known
as a “diamond
of the first water” which
makes NO sense at
all.
Inexpressibles: a man’s breeches.
And men’s
trousers were called
unmentionables.
Why did no one want
to talk about men’s
pants?
In
high dudgeon: very angry
Jointure: a woman’s
monetary settlement
after her husband
died. This was usually
negotiated prior
to the wedding so
that the poor dear
did not end up a
pauper when the
heir stepped forward
to kick her off
the estate.
Laudanum: Opium
used for pain relief.
It could knock a
person unconscious
if given in large
quantities. Not
surprisingly it
was also addictive
if taken too frequently.
Leg-shackled: married
(a term first coined
by author Georgette
Heyer.) Also called
Parson’s mousetrap,
or tenant for life.
Make
a leg: to
bow
Mantua-maker: a
dressmaker.
Megrim: a migraine
head-ache.
Men: a brief classification
(so many, so little
time . . .)
» Buck: Not
a male deer but
rather a male human—usually
a young, spirited
one.
» Captain
Sharp: a gambler
and a cheat.
» Corinthian: a well-dressed man
who prefered sports
to everything else
(I like to think that
they evolved into
the fanatical television
football fans of today
but dressed in tuxedos.)
» Coxcomb: a silly man who is
full of himself.
» Dandy: A
fop.
» Fop: a
dandy (Okay, they’re
both clothes horses.)
» Fribble: one step worse than
a fop since his manliness
is in question.
» Beau-nasty: a fop who doesn’t
bother to clean his
clothes.
» Nob: a rich man of importance.
» Nonesuch: short for “none
such as him”—a
person to be respected.
» Out
and outer: You
had better be willing
to fight when you
challenge this fellow.
He never turns the
other cheek.
» Rake,
Rogue, scoundrel,
hellion, blade, bounder: What all fathers
try to shield their
innocent daughters
from and consequently
what all females want
to know more about.
Usually a good looking
alpha male bent on
amusing himself with
one or more vices:
women, gambling, and
drinking being the
primary choices in
that order.
Mésalliance: an elegant–sounding
word a gossip uses
to describe a marriage
between two people
of differing classes.
Mushroom: social
climber
Nightrail: a woman’s
nightgown.
Nipcheese: a miser.
Nipfarthing: a
miser’s miser.
Not
a feather to fly
with: ruined,
destitute
Not
care a fig about: to care less
about
On-dit: French
for “one says,” i.e.
gossip.
Out: Short for “allowed
to mingle with society,” i.e. “Is
your daughter out
yet?” Not
to be confused with
today’s shortened
version of “out
of the closet.”
Paragon: a person
who behaves with
the utmost propriety.
Parvenu: pushy
social climber
Pay
addresses: to propose or to
court a lady.
Play
fast and loose: to act without thought
and in an inconsistent
way, i.e. “Sophia
was playing it fast
and loose when she
said she could draft
a witty lexicon
in one day.”
Portmanteau: French
for “carry
coat”. This
was a trunk that
usually opened into
two halves.
Posting
banns: to announce or publish
in church an upcoming
wedding (usually
done for 3 consecutive
Sundays before the
marriage.)
Puff-guts: a fat
man.
Pull
a face: to
scowl.
Rag-mannered: no
manners, unpolite.
Ratafia: weak,
fruity brandy liqueur.
No self-respecting
rake would be seen
drinking such a
feminine brew.
Ready,
the: money,
aka, “blunt,” “wherewithal” or “rhino.”
Reticule: a purse
that was considered
lovely in its day.
It looked rather
like an ugly, long
tube sock which
leads one to wonder
what Regency-era
designers were thinking.
. .
Ring
a peal over his
head: to reprimand
or scold loudly.
Scandalbroth: tea—the
gossip-monger beverage
of choice. Also
known as cat-lap
or chatter-broth.
Sixes
and Sevens: chaotic, i.e. “The
house was at sixes
and sevens when
the cat got into
Father’s snuff
(see below.)
Snuff: The legal
cocaine of 200 years
ago—usually
carried in ornate
snuffboxes.
Squabs: the upholstered,
cushioned portions
inside a carriage.
Take
the King’s
shilling: to enlist
in the military.
Tendre: French
for a budding affection
Tiger: a groom
(usually a boy or
small man) who rides
on a small platform
on the back of a
cabriolet or a curricle.
Tittle-tattle: gossip
Town
bronze: to
acquire a facade
of clever sophistication.
The
Marriage Mart: Each season ambitious
mothers trotted
out their unwed
daughters who were
determined to do
their families proud
by “leg-shackling” (marrying)
a peer of the realm
with plump pockets.
And every season
gentlemen proclaimed
their desire to
avoid the old ball
and chain but succumbed
eventually—especially
in proper Historical
Romances—as
they should!
The
cut (the cut direct,
the cut indirect,
the cut sublime,
the cut infernal): No, this
is not about cuts
of meat. It’s
all about precise
levels of renouncing
a person’s
acquaintance. These
supremely offensive
maneuvers are still
practiced today
at most American
Middle schools.
» The cut
direct: crossing
the playground to
avoid someone approaching
you.
» The
cut indirect: Looking the other
way as you’re
crossing the playground.
» The
cut sublime: to
remark on the new
blacktop to your
other acquaintance
while you look
the other way
while crossing
the playground.
» The
cut infernal: to stop
and tie your shoe
while looking the
other way on the playground
as the offensive
person passes.
To
boil one’s
lobster: When
a man of the cloth
trades in his career
and his robes for
scarlet military
finery.
Ventre à terre: French for “belly
to the ground,” meaning
traveling (usually
on horseback) very
fast.
Vowels: IOUs when
gambling.
Wag: someone who
is impish or mischievous.
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|
Coastline
in the Pays Basque region
of France 
Cornish
beach
A
hotel in Penzance 
A
flock of Southdown sheep 
