A profane guide to the slang from eighteenth-century London’s backstreets and taverns and how to use the antique jargon and curse words in modern conversation.

This slang dictionary gathers the most amusing and useful terms from English history and helpfully presents them to be used in the conversations of today.

Originally published in 1785, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was one of the first lexicons of English slang, compiled by a militia captain who collected the terms he overheard on his late-night excursions to London’s slums, dockyards, and taverns. Now the legacy lives on in this colorful pocket dictionary.

• Learn the origin of phrases like “birthday suit” and discover slang lost to time


• An unexpected marriage of lowbrow humor and highbrow wit

A Pocket Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is perfect for enlivening contemporary conversation with historical phrases; it includes a topical list of words for money, drunkenness, the amorous congress, male and female naughty bits, and so on.

• A funny book for wordplay, language, swearing, and insult fans, as well as fans of British humor and culture

Perfect for those who loved How to Speak Brit: The Quintessential Guide to the King’s English, Cockney Slang, and Other Flummoxing British Phrases by Christopher J. Moore; Knickers in a Twist: A Dictionary of British Slang by Jonathan Bernstein; and The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm by James Napoli