Buzz
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a quirky trend emerged in English slang, where playful 'titles' were given to people based on their occupations or activities. For example, an admiral of the blue referred to a publican, named so because of the color of their apron. A queen of the dripping pan was a chef, while a lord of the foresheet represented a ship’s cook. Meanwhile, a knight of the cue was a billiard player, a knight of the thimble a tailor, a knight of the lapstone a cobbler, and a knight of the brush an artist. So, what would your job title have been in Victorian slang?
1. Waitstaff
In Victorian slang, barmen were called aproners, and waiters were referred to as knights of the napkin. However, if you were a waiter at a pub or tavern, you’d more likely be known as a dash, a name either derived from your habit of dashing between tables or from serving a quick dash of liquor. Those fortunate enough to work outdoors during the summer, at garden parties or in beer and tea gardens, were affectionately called grasshoppers.
2. Cooks and Chefs
In 19th-century slang, a dripping was a chef or cook, often thought to be of mediocre skill or low status. Similarly, terms like lick-fingers and spoil-broth were used. A gally-swab referred to a ship’s cook, and a Jack Nasty-face was a naval cook or cook's assistant, likely stemming from the older term jack, which was used for a newly enlisted deckhand or sailor.
3. Shops and Shopkeepers
In Victorian England, a general tradesman or shop worker might be called a blue-apron or an aproner. A dishonest shopkeeper who swindled customers was known as a tax-fencer. Specific shopkeepers had their own colorful nicknames: a butcher was a cleaver and kill-calf, a barber a strap and scraper, a baker could be a crumb-and-crust-man or a bapper and burn-crust, a greengrocer was a figgins or split-fig, and a tailor was called a stay-tape or steel-bar flinger. Interestingly, the term shopkeeper
4. Actors
Because Shakespeare was known as the “The Swan of Avon,” a swan-slinger referred to a Shakespearean actor in 19th-century English. Other terms for actors included tags (derived from the character names that 'tag' the speeches in a script), agony-pilers (often used for those who took on demanding roles), and cackling-coves (literally 'chattering-men').
5. Journalists and Writers
In 19th-century slang, a quill-driver or pen-driver referred to a clerk or secretary, while a hack journalist willing to take on any task for money was called an X.Y.Z., a reference to an anonymous writer who used the pseudonym 'XYZ' in a mid-1880s Times of London ad offering their services for any job. Journalists were also known by the colorful terms screeds, pencil-pushers, adjective-jerkers, and chaunter-coves, and a yarn-chopper was a journalist notorious for fabricating stories.
6. The Police
Following the establishment of the London police force in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, who later became Prime Minister, officers were colloquially known as peelers and bobbies, terms that are still in use in Britain today. The dark-blue uniforms worn by the peelers led to other playful nicknames, including blue-belly, bluebottle, gentleman in blue and white, and even unboiled lobster.
7. Lawyers
Originating from the earlier use of snap to refer to a snare or noose, a brother-snap was a dishonest lawyer or shyster in 18th- and 19th-century slang. Lawyers also went by colorful names like sublime rascals, tongue-padders, and split-causes (due to their tendency to engage in long-winded explanations and argue over every minor detail). In London rhyming slang, they were also called Tom Sawyers, and snipes—the latter because they often presented their clients with an exorbitantly long bill.
8. Judges
Magistrates were known as beaks in 18th- and 19th-century English, though the origin of this term remains unclear. Meanwhile, judges among Victorian criminals were referred to as nobs-in-the-fur-trade. (A nob referred to a high-ranking or important individual, and the fur trade pointed to the white fur, often ermine, that adorned judges’ robes.)
9. Teachers
Learning-shover, nip-lug (so named for pulling on students' ears, or lugs), and terror of the infantry (infantry being a slang term for the pupils) were all slang terms for schoolteachers in 19th-century England. Teachers were also humorously referred to as haberdasher of pronouns. A schoolmaster might be called a knight of grammar, while a Sunday-school teacher could be known as a gospel-grinder or gospel-shark.
10. Farmers
The term bosken was derived from the Latin word for 'ox,' bos, and referred to a farmhouse in 19th-century slang. A farmer was often called a bos-man or boss-cockie, while a farmworker or agricultural laborer could be referred to as a Billy Turniptop.
11. Priests and the Clergy
In 19th-century slang, priests were known by terms such as devil-dodgers, men-in-black, mumble-matins (from the Matins church service), and joss-house men—the latter stemming from a pidgin version of the Spanish word Dios, meaning God.
12., 13., 14., and 15. Doctors, Pharmacists, Surgeons, and Dentists
The terms clyster-pipe and squirt were once common slang for syringes, which by the 19th century were also used as a shorthand for those in the business of administering medicine. In the 16th century, water-scriger and water-caster referred to doctors who based their diagnoses on urine samples, and these terms persisted into the 1800s. Surgeons were called bone-setters and castor-oil artists, while dentists were known as fang-fakers. Pharmacists and chemists were dubbed potter-carriers (a playful reference to 'apothecary'), and a chemist’s assistant was called a bottle-boy. A loblolly-boy was a doctor's assistant.
16. and 17. Bankers and Cashiers/Accountants
In early 19th-century English, a rag referred to a banknote, which is why a rag-shop or rag-box was a slang term for a bank. A rag-shop boss was a banker, and a rag-shop cove was a cashier or anyone involved in handling and counting money.
