Expressions/Slang of the Victorian Era

As the students prepare for the Barton House living history trip, we had a class discussion on popular slang or phrases that people of the time period might have said. Thousands of words and phrases in existence in the late 1800s have drifted away or changed their forms. Just as many new phrases have been added or are being added into our modern day English language every day.  

Some of favorite Victorian Slang/Expressions:

Butter Upon Bacon: Extravagance. Too much extravagance. “Are you going to put lace over the feather, isn't that rather butter upon bacon?”

Chuckaboo: A nickname given to a close friend.

Gas-Pipes: A term for especially tight pants.

Start a Jolly: To lead applause.

Students created various classroom skits to showcase these expressions. Classmates had to guess what each student was talking about and how it related to modern day expressions.

(Rain Napper Skit)

Students were not sure how these Victorian phrases ever fell out of fashion, but we propose bringing some back!


More Sample Terms
http://www.victorianlondon.org/words/slang1870s.htm
 More Victorian Terms