122 THE BACK SLANG UNKNOWN TO THE POLICE. and very extraordinary rendering of women. Where a word is refractory in submitting to a back rendering, as in the case of pound, letters are made to change positions for the sake of harmony, thus we have DUNOP, a pound, instead of dnuop, which nobody could pleasantly pronounce. This will remind the reader of the Jews' "old clo," "old clo," instead of old clothes, old clothes, which would tire even the patience of a Jew to repeat all day. This singular BACK tongue has been in vogue. about fifteen years. It is, as before stated, soon acquired, and is principally used by the costermongers (as the specimen glossary will show), for communicating the secrets of their street tradings, the cost and profit of the goods, and for keeping their natural enemies, the police, in the dark. COOL THE ESCLOP (look at the police) is often said. amongst them when one of the constabulary is making his appearance. Perhaps on no one subject is the costermonger so particular as on money matters. All costs and profits, he thinks should be kept profoundly secret. The back slang, therefore, give the various small amounts very minutely. THE COSTERMONGERS' TERMS FOR MONEY. 123 FLATCH, halfpenny. YENEP, penny. OWT-YENEPS, two pence. ERTH-YENEPS, three pence. ROUF-YENEPS, four pence. EVIF, or EWIF-YENEPS, five pence. EXIS-YENEPS, six pence. NEVIS-YENEPS, seven pence. TEAICH, or THEG-YENEPS, eight pence. ENIN-YENEPS, nine pence. NET-YENEPS, ten pence. NEVELÉ-YENEPS, eleven pence. GEN, or GENERALIZE, one shilling or twelve pence. GEN, or ENO-GEN, one shilling. OWT-GENS, two shillings. ERTH-GENS, three shillings. The GENS continue in the same sequence as the yeneps above, excepting THEG-GENS, 8s., which is usually rendered THEG-GUY,-a deviation with ample precedents in all civilized tongues. YENORK, a crown piece, or five shillings. Beyond this amount the costermonger reckons after an intricate and complicated mode. Fifteen 124 ARITHMETIC AMONGST THE COSTERMONGERS. shillings would be ERTH-EVIF-GENS, or, literally, 3 times 5s.; seventeen shillings would be ERTHYENORK-FLATCH, or three crowns and a half; or, by another mode of reckoning, ERTH-EVIF-GENSFLATCH-YENORK, i. e., 3 times 5s., and half a crown. DUNOP, a pound. Further than which the costermonger seldom goes in money reckoning. In the following Glossary only those words are given which costermongers principally use,—the terms connected with street traffic, the names of the different coins, vegetables, fruit, and fish, technicalities of police courts, &c. The reader might naturally think that a system of speech so simple as the BACK SLANG, would require no Glossary, but he will quickly perceive, from the specimens given, that a great many words in frequent use in a BACK sense have become so twisted as to require a little glossarial explanation. GLOSSARY OF THE BACK SLANG. BIRK, a "crib,"-house. COOL, to look. COOL HIM, look at him. A phrase frequently used when one costermonger warns another of the approach of a policeman. DAB, bad. DABHENO, one bad, or a bad market. See DOOGHENO. DA-ERB, bread. DEB, or DAB, a bed; "I'm on to the DEB," I'm going to bed. DLOG, gold. DOOG, good. DOOGHENO, literally "one-good," or "good-one," but implying generally a good market. DOOGHENO HIT, one good hit. A coster remarks to a "mate,” Jack made a doogheno hit this morning," implying that he did well at market, or sold out with good profit. DUNOP, a pound. ERTH, three. * EARTH GENS, three shillings. EARTH SITH-NOMS, three months. EARTH YANNOPS, or YENEPS, threepence. ERTH GENS, three shillings. ERTH-PU, three-up,-a street game. ERTH SITH-NOMS, three months,-a term of imprisonment unfortunately very familiar to the lower orders. ERTH-YENEPS, threepence. ESCLOP, the police. ES-ROPH, or ES-ROCH, a horse. EVIF-YENEPS, five pence. EVLENET GENS, twelve shillings. EVLENET SITH-NOMS, twelve months. EWIF-GENS, a crown, or five shillings. * My informant preferred EARTH to ERTH,-for the reason, he said, "that it looked more sensible (?)" |