Parish Soldier (Grose 1811 Dictionary)

Parish Soldier

A jeering name for a militiaman: from substitutes being frequently hired by the parish from which one of its inhabitants is drawn.

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

Parish * Park Pailing

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.