Slang From The Victorian Era Was Even More Absurd Than We Knew
There's nothing like the slang of today to make you feel really, really out of touch. "Glow-up." "No cap." "On fleek." Sure, it's only natural for older generations to fall out of style with the latest terms, but at least we have our own tried-and-true slang to fall back on... right? Believe it or not, old-timey slang is even more ridiculous than what we have today. After hearing these Victorian terms, figuring out what "it's lit" means will be the least of your worries.
1. "Don't sell me a dog!"
One thing that's never good in excess is lying, which is why Victorians were fond of the saying, "don't sell me a dog." Many people who sold dogs back in those days often tried to pass off mutts as purebreds, so this phrase came to mean "don't lie to me."
2. Chuckaboo
While "chuckaboo" might sound like the name of an imaginary creature you made up when you were eight, Victorians actually used the word quite often. "Chuckaboo" was what they called their closest friends, or, in our terms, their BFFs.
3. A case of the morbs
When life hits you hard, someone from the Victorian Era might tell you you've "got the morbs." This rather clever phrase from 1880 means to experience some momentary melancholy.
4. Shake a flannin
Hopefully you've managed to sober up, because one your friends is about to "shake a flannin" with a stranger. This is the Victorian way of saying they're going to fight. That's not how Victorian gentlemen are supposed to behave!
