The First English Dictionary of Slang 1699

Written originally for the education of the polite London classes in ‘canting’ – the language of thieves and ruffians – should they be so unlucky as to wander into the ‘wrong’ parts of town, A New Dictionary of Terms, Ancient and Modern, of the Canting Crew by ‘B.E. Gent’ is the first work dedicated solely to the subject of slang words and their meanings. It is also the first text which attempts to show the overlap and integration between canting words and common slang. In its refusal to distinguish between criminal vocabulary and the more ordinary everyday English of the period, it sets canting words side by side with terms used by sailors, labourers, and those in the common currency of domestic culture.

With an introduction by John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, describing the history and culture of canting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the evolution of English slang, this is a fascinating volume for anyone with a curiosity about language, or wishing to reintroduce ‘Dandyprat’ or ‘Fizzle’ into their everyday conversation.