Table of contents
Guide to Slang
Throughout history slang has evolved and changed with the rise and fall of nations, city states and civilisations. The below section is an addendum to help further embellish your roleplaying at different epochs.
Epochs
Epochs are used to describe an event that begins a new period or development. An example would be the victorian era.
313 BC
Historical Events within living memory:
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1013 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Acre | The area of land that can be ploughed by one ox team in a day. |
| Amercement | Financial penalty imposed by the King or his justices for various minor offences. |
| Apostate | Used to describe one who left religious orders, or who returned to a heresy having once renounced it. |
| Bailiff | Lord’s overseer or steward. |
| Bailiwick | Bailiff’s area of authority. |
| Baron | vassals who held land directly from the crown and served as a member of the King’s great council. This isn’t a title so much as a description. All Barons would be called Lord or something grander; not all Lords would be a Baron. |
| Borough | Town with the right of self governance granted by royal charter. |
| Chancellor | The monarch’s secretary or notary, managing the Chancery, filled with clerks who produced writs and written instructions and records. |
| Constable | The title of an officer given command in an army or an important garrison. High Constable was the officer who commanded in the King’s absence and commanded the kings army. |
| Estovers | The right to gather wood. |
| Exchequer | Financial department of the royal government. The chief officers of the Exchequer were the Treasurer, the Chancellor and the Justiciar. |
| Fealty | Oath by which a vassal swore loyalty to his lord. |
| Justiciar | Head of the royal judicial system and the King’s viceroy during his absence from the country. |
| Sergeant | Servant who accompanied his lord to battle, or a horseman of lower status used as light cavalry. Also meant a type of non knightly “tenure in service” owed to a lord. Such persons might carry the lord’s banner, serve in the wine cellar, make bows/arrows or any of a dozen other occupations. |
| Steward | Man responsible for running the day to day affairs of the manor or castle in absence of the lord. |
| Tithe | One tenth of a person’s produce and income, due as a tax to support the church. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1713 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Admiral of the Narrow Seas | A drunk who vomits into a neighbor's lap. |
| Avast! | Stop! |
| Bailed man | A man who has bribed the press gang for immunity. |
| Cast up one's accounts | To vomit. |
| Blashy | Rainy weather. |
| Break-teeth words | Words hard to pronounce. |
| Caper | To be hanged. |
| Going to Jerusalem | To be drunk. |
| Gone to the Diet of Worms | To be dead and buried. |
| Irish apricot | A potato. |
| Paddy-whack | An Irishman. |
| Rum gagger | One who tells false sea stories of hardship. |
| Study the history of the four kings | To play cards. |
| To go up a ladder to bed | To be hanged. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1873 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Bags o’ Mystery | Sausages. |
| Bow wow mutton | A naval term referring to meat so bad “it might be dog flesh.”. |
| Bricky | Brave or fearless. |
| Church-bell | A talkative woman. |
| Damfino | Contraction of “damned if I know.” |
| Mad as Hops | Excitable. |
| Mind the Grease | Excuse me. |
| Mutton Shunter | Policeman. |
| Shoot into the brown | To fail. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1896 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Corker | Something excellent, outstanding. |
| Jiggery-pokery | Deceitful trickery. |
| Juice | Electricity. |
| Lunkhead | A stupid or foolish person. |
| Live wire | An exciting, energetic person. |
| Port-sider | A left-hander. |
| Tube | The telephone. |
| Up the river | In prison or jail. |
| Simoleon | A dollar. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1940's AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Ace | A person with a high level of expertise. |
| Cold fish | A boring person; someone who isn’t very responsive. |
| Dame | A woman. |
| Cockeyed | Crazy, impossible, stupid. |
| Gobbledygook | Talking nonsense. |
| Greenbacks | Paper Money. |
| Shuteye | Sleep. |
| Swigger | A person who drinks alcohol. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1969 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| A gas | Having a fun time. |
| Bug out | To leave. |
| Flower power | The peaceful protest movement of the '60s counterculture. |
| Freedom riders | Civil rights protesters. |
| Gimme some skin | To ask someone to slap or shake your hand in agreement. |
| Hawk | A supporter of war. |
| Twitchin' | Great or awesome. |
| Way out | Something beyond explanation. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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1984 AD
Period Slang:
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Slang Term |
Description |
|---|---|
| Bitchin | Something Great. |
| Crib | Home. |
| Dufus | A polite way of saying someone is an idiot. |
| Fly | Cool. |
| Gag me with a spoon | Something that is gross or obnoxious. |
| Hellacious | Can be used in a positive or negative way. Surprisingly good or unbearably bad. |
| Later Days and Better Lays | A phrase used to say goodbye and good luck. |
Historical Events within living memory:
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