Oaths (Grose 1811 Dictionary)

Oaths

The favourite oaths of the thieves of the present day are, “God strike me blind!” “I wish my bloody eyes may drop out if it is not true!” “So help me God!” “Bloody end to me!”

Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.

Oats * Oar

Nearby

Nathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang

John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes

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About

Francis Grose was independently wealthy, having inherited money from his father, a jeweller. Finding himself overspending, he published a number of books; his Provincial Glossary seems to have been the starting-point for the Vulgar Tongue reproduced here.