Glossary of Whores and Prostitutes (1811) – Part 2

In Part 1 of this blog, I introduced you to the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811). It is an invaluable source for hearing the voices of the common people in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This work provides insights into how men saw common women; whom they considered to be of ill repute, or at least on their way to becoming such.

Grading the Words Prostitute and Whore

Below is a list of how I have pieced together this complex topic. I have divided them by Whoredom and Prostitutes, grading them by how I see their usage, rather than an A-Z dictionary. An example of this comes from two whoredom words:

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

The work liking these terms is “common” and the grading consists of the extra description. For example a Buttock and Twang was not a pickpocket whereas the Buttock and File was a pickpocket. The Buttock and Twang being higher on the scale than a Buttock and File by the fact this class of whores do not pick their customer’s pocket. This is based upon the assumption money was being passed which would link these terms to prostitution. This was the world our common ancestors lived in and how they classified the people around them.

The Worse Word to Call a Woman in 1811

While my grading of both prostitutes and whores is totally subjective; please be aware that as family historians we are trying to piece together the lives of people we technically only see as names on paper, microfilm or on a computer screen. However, saying this; while my ranking of whores and prostitutes may be subjective, the worse word of all was very clear cut! In 1811, there was no discussion that the worse word of all was bitch. The word was defined in 1811 with the following blunt definition:

Bitch: The most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the regular Billinsgate or St. Gile’s answer – “I may be a whore, but can’t be a bitch.”

I have taken a few liberties with my glossary so that the modern mind can be wrapped around them. However, most wording has been left intact.

Grades of Whoredom in 1811

Whore: In wide usage with other words but not listed as word alone in the 1811 dictionary. General terms for a whore would include; Buttock, Covey, Crack, Madam Ran, Merry Arse Christian, and Punk. The terminology digresses from here.

Game Pullet: A young whore or forward girl in the way of becoming one.

Lewd Women: Ladybirds, Wagtail

Doxies: She beggars, wenches, whores.

Buttock and Twang: A common whore, but no pickpocket.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.
Buttock and File: A common whore and a pickpocket.

Dirty Puzzle: A nasty slut.

Drab: A nasty, sluttish whore.

Mawkes: A vulgar slattern (slut, harlot).

Fusty Luggs: A beastly, sluttish woman.

Trapes: A slatternly woman, a careless sluttish woman.

Wrinkle: A wrinkle bellied whore; one who has had a number of bastards.

Trumpery: An old whore, or goods of no value; rubbish.

Grades of Prostitutes in 1811

There are several generic terms for a prostitute and then the language becomes more colorful and descriptive. For present purposes, generic terms are kept separate from terms to describe a “common prostitute.” The common part adding at least one more descriptive term. One eyebrow raising word is “Barber’s Chair” which I have placed under the word Prostitute itself. However, the full definition is: Barber’s Chair: She is as common as a barber’s chair, in which a whole parish sit to be trimmed; said of a prostitute.

Prostitute: Barber’s Chair, Case Vrow, Covent Garden Nun, Curtezan, Drury Lane Vestal, Easy Virtue, Laced Mutton, Lady of Easy Virtue, Impure, One of Us (One of my Cousins), Public Ledger, Receiver General, Squirrel, Tail, Town, Unfortunate Women, Woman of Pleasure, Woman of the Town, Woman of Pleasure and Woman of the Town.

Mob (Mab): A wench or harlot.

Strumpet: A harlot.

Miss: A miss or kept mistress; a harlot.

Blowen: A mistress or whore of a man who as he slept would rob him. Also refers to a prostitute who brings a man into a brothel and then robs him.

Common Prostitute: Cat, A Female Screw, Fen,

Dopey: A beggar’s trull (low prostitute or concubine).

Queer Mort: A diseased strumpet.

Wasp: An infected prostitute, who like a wasp carries a sting in her tail.

Bunter: A low dirty prostitute, half whore and half beggar.

Quean: A slut, or worthless woman, a strumpet.

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