I love language. Because I wrote so many Regencies, I have a huge collection of Regency slang. However, my current series is set in Gilded Age New York.
Early 19th century English slang and late 19th century American slang are very different. So are late 19th century English and American slang. Since I have a horror of anachronisms, I went on a quest. Here are some of the results:
All-overish: uncomfortable.
The biggest toad in the puddle: the most important person in a group.
You’re as like to catch a weasel sleeping: expression of disbelief.
Carrying water on both shoulders: playing a double part.
Fiddler: a cheat or sharper.Gone goose: one lost beyond recovery.
Rumbumptious: pompous, haughty.
Shrieking sisterhood: group of female suffragists.
Skin your own skunk: do your own dirty work.
To wake snakes: to get into trouble.
Tune the old cow died of: any discordant music.
Those who took a drink or two too many might find themselves foggy, swipey, glorious, top-heavy, obfuscated — or, my favorite, in a state of mops and brooms.
To be continued…
Maggie MacKeever, Novelist 
hi—I’m obsessed with these (and American vernacular from the late 19th century), in your research, did you find a niche dictionary or glossary that’s better than others?
Hi. My main source for vernacular in general has always been Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Another is ‘The American Slang Dictionary from 1890’. If you Google ‘Dictionary of Victorian slang’, some interesting things come up. Mainly, I use a notebook filled with words and phrases that I’ve collected from various sources over the years. Recently I’ve been asking ChatGPT for specific words/phrases, and it’s turning out to (usually) be helpful. Good luck!
This is fantastic! i’m looking for a good glossary or dictionary of late 19th C american slang — have you come across any in your research?
Hi. My main source for vernacular in general has always been Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Another is ‘The American Slang Dictionary from 1890’. If you Google ‘Dictionary of Victorian slang’, some interesting things come up. Mainly, I use a notebook filled with words and phrases that I’ve collected from various sources over the years. Recently I’ve been asking ChatGPT for specific words/phrases, and it’s turning out to (usually) be helpful. Good luck!