Eric PartridgeCritiques

It's somewhat redundant now, in an era where any annotated Shakespeare volume worth the price comes with a completely smuttified glossary, but there was a time - within the lifetime of some people still living - when this stuff was regularly omitted from teaching at any level. (It's the principal reason, to this day, that "Julius Caesar" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" top so many highschool curricula.)

So, top marks for Partridge for putting together a glossary that finds some remarkably obscure dirty words in Shakespeare. Love it.

The opening essay is more of a mixed bag, to be honest. One-third is great, just in justifying Shakespeare's use of smut (nowadays, as we know more about theatre production and can equate it with the 17th century, we need this less). One-third is really just a recap of the glossary, since clearly Partridge is feeling pretty defensive. The other third is... more pretentious. And unpleasant. It's Partridge's overly psychologically telling explanation of why Shakespeare was expressly heterosexual. Now, don't get me wrong, I believe Shakespeare was at most bisexual, and ultimately it doesn't matter. But Partridge - while certainly "tolerant" of the deviant homosexuals he sees everywhere around him - directly appeals to his heterosexual readers to show less bias and to appreciate that only a straight man would make so many vagina jokes while writing a play for a mainstream audience. Um, Eric? Half of my friends are homosexual writers and/or comedians, and very few of them are afraid to discuss the pudenda. At length. But, thanks for playing.

So, his contributions far outweigh his puzzling psychological tells, but this book is probably outdated nonetheless.

3/15/22

Sweet! I love words. Christmas present to myself thanks to generous gift certificates from family. When I can't sleep this is a fun book to ponder. The only thing I'm worried about is the cr*p binding on this Burton-sized tome. I'm sure it will be falling apart within a decade--why would you bind a reference book like this?!

Sweet! I love words. Christmas present to myself thanks to generous gift certificates from family. When I can't sleep this is a fun book to ponder. The only thing I'm worried about is the cr*p binding on this Burton-sized tome. I'm sure it will be falling apart within a decade--why would you bind a reference book like this?!

Segnalato da Marina Rullo

From the 8th ed. with additional material

Some of the entries I knew just by right of being the son of my father, e.g., “BUM FODDER. Soft paper for the necessary house,” (i.e., toilet paper).

It’s entertaining, and useful.

Full of racism against the Irish and Romani.

A few other choice entries, more or less at random:

ADMIRAL OF THE NARROW SEAS. One who from drunkenness vomits into the lap of the person sitting opposite him.

BACK GAMMON PLAYER. A sodomite.

BRISTOL MILK. A Spanish wine called sherry, much drunk at that place, particularly in the morning.

HEMPEN FEVER. A man who was hanged is said to have died of a hempen fever; and, in Dorsetshire, is said to have been stabbed with a Bridport dagger; Bridport being a place famous for manufacturing hemp into cords.

MAMOMETAN GRUEL. Coffee: because formerly used chiefly by the Turks.

RESURRECTION MEN. Persons employed by the students in anatomy to steal dead bodies out of church-yards.

RUM CHUB. Among butchers, a customer easily imposed on, as to the quality and price of meat.

SAINT GEOFFREY’S DAY. Never, there being no saint of that name.

SHE HOUSE. A house where the wife rules, or, as the term is, wears the breeches.

A sometimes jaw dropping collection of definitions of words and phrases in use in the early nineteenth century around Britain. Who knew that, for example, a "snoozing ken" was a brothel? Or that a "Twiddle Poop" was an effeminate looking man? A a good description of your testicles was "twiddle-diddle"? Find these and thousands more at your finger tips in the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.½

Enjoyed every page of this study.

I just finished David Crystal's overview of punditry, [b:The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left|542046|The Fight for English How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left|David Crystal|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255656845s/542046.jpg|529385] (gave it five stars; check it out), and this is the kind of book he isn't fond of.

Partridge is not as prescriptive as some, but this is a big usage manual on one aspect of 'correct' communication. To steal Crystal's metaphor, Partridge is trying to teach us to be both mechanic and driver - but punctuation (to stretch the metaphor 'until it howls') is just the seat & mirror position, the headlights and windshield wipers, the climate control and radio. Grammar, vocabulary, a sense of rhythm, etc., are all important for effective communication, too.

Fortunately he writes with skill, grace, some wit, and a certain degree of respect for stylistic preferences. And I think someone sincerely trying to be a better writer could benefit from studying Partridge's book. They'll need others, though, if they want to be ready to actually drive well, and/or understand what they're seeing under the hood.

This is British, and old. However, he does claim: I'm an Americanophile, not an Americanomane." (He does turn over discussion of the differences between British and American usage to an American excerpt.)

And the witty lines are fun: "Providing these serious-minded and decorous capitals be used sparingly, one can hardly object to them."

Btw, you gotta love the names of the players. And don't forget the other important contributors who have names that fit the theme, [a:H.W. Fowler|3003691|H.W. Fowler|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg] and [a:Lynne Truss|5571|Lynne Truss|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1215628380p2/5571.jpg]...."

Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue No, that’s not good enough. The title page of the original (a facsimile is included in this edition) is much more informative as well as entertaining, and is worth reproducing, after a fashion.

Lexicon Balatronicum
A DICTIONARY OF Buckish Slang, University Wit, AND PICKPOCKET ELOQUENCE.
Compiled originally by Captain Grose.
♦
AND NOW CONSIDERABLY ALTERED AND ENLARGED,
WITH THE MODERN CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS,
BY A MEMBER OF THE WHIP CLUB.
ASSISTED BY Hell-Fire Dick, and James Gordon, Esqrs. of Cambridge; and William Soames, Esq. of the Hon. Society of Newman’s Hotel.

So just what is this Lexicon Balatonicum and what was its purpose? To answer the last first: it was a spoof dictionary, a compilation of obscure and not so obscure words and phrases put together for a laugh. The clue is in its first title: a ‘balatron’ is a joker, a clown, a buffoon. Max Harris’ 1980 foreword informs us that its 1785 precursor was put together by Francis Grose, who died in 1791 (yes, there are a lot of dates here). “The merit,” as Hell-Fire Dick and his colleagues tell us, “of Captain Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue has been long and universally acknowledged. But its circulation was confined almost exclusively to the lower orders of society…” So the 1811 editors incorporated a few extra entries for an audience which could include “the man of worth”, who was now able to “swear with a good grace” and to “talk bawdy before their papas without the fear of detection”.

Moreover, the editors tell us earnestly that the lexicon’s moral influence will be more effective than a Methodist sermon, for by learning how to phrase remarks in this alternative lingo “improper topics can with our assistance be discussed” between brothers and servants of a family in front of the ladies “without raising a blush on the cheek of modesty”. For females, this Dictionary avers, will never comprehend the true meaning of terms such as twiddle diddles…

To be sure, a large proportion of this book of reference is devoted to bodily functions and the like. Even now, two centuries and more later, it’s very hard to acknowledge without the use of asterisks a notoriously vulgar term that is here famously defined as “a nasty name for a nasty thing”, though heaven knows there are enough synonyms for it throughout these pages, such as the quaint euphemism “the Monosyllable”. And I will now never ever knowingly use the term nincompoop, so thank you Max Harris for drawing attention to it. And now I have done the same for you.

But, for the social historian and the linguist, there are plenty of other riches. Here are some terms and customs plucked at random from the pages, which might be used with great advantage even today.
CROW FAIR. A visitation of the clergy.
HABERDASHER OF PRONOUNS. A schoolmaster…
KITTLE PITCHERING. A jocular method of hobbling or bothering a troublesome teller of long stories.
PIGEON’S MILK. Boys and novices are frequently sent on the first of April to buy pigeon’s milk.
RIBALDRY. Vulgar abusive language, such as was spoken by ribalds. Ribalds were originally mercenary soldiers…

Some of the longer entries are fascinating, such as the twenty-three “orders” of the “canting CREW”, from rufflers to priggers, bawdy baskets to doxies; or the unpleasant custom of Riding Skimington. This edition presents the text in facsimile, which adds to its attractiveness, even if the mere recitation of some of the Dictionary’s entries underlines the unattractiveness of contemporary attitudes to all and sundry. At least no one is spared the whips of scorn so none need feel left out of the general opprobrium displayed in all its tawdry glory.

http://wp.me/s2oNj1-vulgar

The Profanisaurus of the 19th century. Some of the entries made me chuckle.

I downloaded it on a whim and it is now part of a devilish exercise of whit and mayhem I have planned for October. This book seriously would have come I handy during a few of
My research projects during senior year and my grad studies!

The author lists and classifies "stereo-typed expressions" into four groups:

1. Idioms that have become cliches. Indiscriminate use has blunted the original point.

2. Hackneyed phrases.

3. Foreign languages providing stock phrases.

4. Literary quotations.

I have always preferred to chum the waters with unrecognizable nonsequitors. Very useful reference, for ideas -- a new lease on life, with a new broom.

See my review dated 13 May 2009 on the Amazon website

Indispensable and hugely entertaining. Every page a source of delight.

Per i miei gusti, c’è a volte un po’ troppo Eric Partidge in questo libro ma è comunque interessante e risolve quei problemi che magari Fowler’s Usage non affronta. Come Fowler’s, è interessante leggerlo qua e là perché ha sempre qualcosa da insegnare. Apro a caso, e trovo una voce che riguarda if not. Esempio (mio, per abbreviare): “it was the most attractive, if not the greatest event…” Era o non era il più grande? Ma sotto if trovo anche il passato di if need be (qual è?), if as how (bleah!), if and when (al posto di when), e una spiegazione della differenza fra if e whether. Il fatto è che se scrivi “if” al posto di “whether”, il 95% dei lettori forse non noterà, ma se chi interessa a te fa parte del 5%, allora conviene sapere le regole, n’est-ce pas? In effetti, questi libri non sono opzionali per chi scrive in inglese, che siano italiani o madrelingua…
Segnalato da Simon Turner

Con 804 pagine, è ricchissimo e Eric Partridge è sempre autorevole. Potrebbe essere molto utile per chi traduce dall’inglese e si trova a dover capire lo slang storico inglese (presumo che sia piuttosto datato ormai, visto che è del 1950). Un buon libro.
Segnalato da Simon Turner

Ho comprato questo libro solo perché stava lì – ma mi sono pentito. Innanzitutto, serve a chi traduce dall’inglese e vuole capire ciò che scrivono gli altri, quindi non aiuta me che devo cercare di capire ciò che ho scritto io. Con 534 pagine e un formato quasi doppio rispetto al tascabile normale, qui ce n’è di termini a non finire. Purtroppo, cerchi una parola e non la trovi, cerchi un’altra e non trovi neanche quella, ma il motivo è semplice: si sono dimenticati di dire nella prima di copertina “…del 20° secolo”, ed è scritto solo in piccolo in quarta. Per avere tutto, devi comprare il “Dictionary of Historical Slang” e il “Dictionary of Catch Phrases”, oppure, se butti via questo, il “Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English”. Almeno credo che sia così: controlla bene prima di cacciare le lire. Presumo che a qualcuno potrebbe risultare utile, ma occhio che trovi solo i termini che sono entrati nella lingua fra il 1900 e il 1989 – quindi non solo è incompletissimo ma è pure datato. 90 anni soltanto e lo spacciano per un dizionario vero e proprio? Come si dice “fregatura” in slang o, meglio ancora, in unconventional English?
Segnalato da Simon Turner

Si tratta di una edizione ridotta del Dictionary of Slang di E. P. Per "historical" va inteso tutto ciò che era già in uso nel Commonwealth prima del 1914. Quasi 50.000 voci, utilissimo per tradurre autori dell'800 inglese. Non solo spiega bene le origini dei vari modi di dire, è anche molto divertente da leggere ! Uno splendido dizionario.
Segnalato da Francesco Tosi

John Mortimer refered to E.P. as the great Eric Partridge. That's good enough for me.

useful reference for my work

Provides detailed explanations for the odd and unusual words and expressions you come across when least expected. Written to include selections across cultures this book is especially useful for the reader of historical and sociological world literature. It is not unusual to come across a known word or expression with a completely different meaning than is generally accepted. A dictionary worth reading.½

Great text, essential for writers, editors, teachers and anyone who's interested in communicating correctly.

It's an essential part of any reference library.

An excellent dictionary of slang up to 1900.