Page:Farmer - Slang and its analogues past and present - Volume 3.pdf/14

 1855. Thackeray, Newcomes, ch. xii. He was in the 'Cave of Harmony,' he says, that night you flared up about Captain Costigan.

1871. Daily Telegraph, 8 June, 'Paris in Convalescence.' On this he flared up like a Commune conflagration, and cried out; 'Shame, in the name of religion, art, and history!'

Flash, subs. (old).—1. The vulgar tongue; the lingo of thieves and their associates. To patter flash = to talk in thieves' lingo. [The derivation of Flash, like that of French argot, is entirely speculative. It has, however, been generally referred to a district called Flash (the primary signification as a place name is not clear), between Buxton Leek and Macclesfield: there lived many chapmen who, says Dr. Aiken ("Description of Country round Manchester"), 'were known as flash-men using a sort of slang or cant dialect.']

1718. Hitchin. The Regulator of Thieves, etc., with Account of flash words, etc. (Title).

1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 69. Jigger, being cant or flash for door.

1819. Moore, Tom Crib's Memorial, p. 25. With respect to that peculiar language called flash, or St. Jiles' Greek, etc.

1830. Sir E. B. Lytton, Paul Clifford, ch. viii. Here a tall gentleman marched up to him, and addressed him in a certain language, which might be called the freemasonry of flash.

1839. Harrison Ainsworth, Jack Sheppard (1889), p. 12, 'What does he say?' roared the long drover. 'He says he don't understand flash,' replied the lady in gentleman's attire.

1843-4. Hood, Miss Kilmansegg. His cheeks no longer drew the cash. Because, as his comrades explain'd in flash, He had overdrawn his badger.

1827. Maginn, Vidocq's Song. Pattered in flash like a covey knowing.

1864. Athenæum, 29 Oct. The northern village of ill-repute, and bearing that name (flash) gave to felonious high-flying the term flash.

1884. Hawley Smart, From Post to Finish, p. 278. Why, when the late Lord Lytton wrote Pelham it was brought against him that 'his knowledge of flash was evidently purely superficial.' Flash, my sister, is merely recondite slang or thieves' argot.

English Analogues.—Back Slang or Kacab-Genals (the main principle consists in roughly pronouncing the word backwards, as erif for fire, dab for bad, etc.: the practice exists in most languages); Cant (q.v.); Centre Slang (the central vowel is made the initial letter, vowels and consonants being added at pleasure); Gammy (North country: mainly composed of Gypsy words); Gibberish (formed by inserting a consonant between each syllable of a word, the result being the F, G, H, M or S gibberish, according to the letter used: thus, "goming mout tom-daym," or "gosings outs tos-days?" = going out to-day?); jargon; the Green Lingo (French thieves'); Marrowskying or Hospital Greek (manufactured by transferring the initial letters of words; plenty of rain thus becomes renty of plain: the 'Gower St. dialect' of Albert Smith, Mr. Ledbury); Pedlar's French (old cant: Florio, 1598; Cotgrave, 1612); Rhyming Slang (q.v.) Slang (q.v.); St. Giles' Greek (last century for Slang as distinguished from Cant); Thieves' Latin; the Vulgar Tongue; Yob-gab (q.v.); Notions (q.v.); Ziph (q.v.).

French and other Analogues.—Argot or arguche; la langue verte (properly gamesters'); le langage soudardant (soldiers'