You would probably get a confused look in today’s world if you called someone ‘tarse’ or ‘nippy’, but it would have caused plenty of trouble centuries ago.
That’s because the unusual terms are among Britain’s best long-lost swear words, which also include ‘bald-a*se’ and ‘hollow-mouthed’ - indicating a lack of teeth.
Dr Todd Gray MBE has studied historic insults, with ‘gouty-legged’ and ‘copper-nosed’ - from the practice of treating syphilis with copper - among the others.
You gouty-legged ninnycock! Language historian reveals the long-lost words that will help you swear like an Elizabethan
Dr Todd Gray MBE has researched Britain’s best long-lost swear words
These include ‘tarse’, ‘nippy’, ‘bald-a*se’, 'wittol' and ‘hollow-mouthed’
Also on Exeter expert's list are 'polecat', 'cucumber', 'rogue' and 'knave'
By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE
3 October 2016
Daily Mail
You would probably get a confused look in today’s world if you called someone ‘tarse’ or ‘nippy’, but it would have caused plenty of trouble centuries ago.
That’s because the unusual terms are among Britain’s best long-lost swear words, which also include ‘bald-a*se’ and ‘hollow-mouthed’ - indicating a lack of teeth.
Dr Todd Gray MBE has studied historic insults, with ‘gouty-legged’ and ‘copper-nosed’ - from the practice of treating syphilis with copper - among the others.
Old insults: An Elizabethan illustration from Dr Todd Gray's book on swearing, after he studied 40,000 documents from the church and state courts in the 1500s and 1600s
The research fellow at the University of Exeter spent years trawling through 40,000 documents from the church and state courts in the 1500s and 1600s.
Other highlights in 58-year-old Dr Gray’s book published this month include ‘tarse’, meaning p*nis; and ‘wittol’, meaning a husband complicit in his wife’s adultery.
Other old swear words include ‘polecat’, meaning a lewd woman; and ‘cucumber’, which was another word for a cuckold - the husband of an adulteress.
His research is in the monograph ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name calling in Devon, 1540-1640’, and in the book ‘How to Swear Like an Elizabethan in Devon’.
Many of the documents he found were related to slander cases, in which people would complain that they had been verbally insulted.
Dr Gray said: ‘At the very heart of everything is the need to keep a good reputation.
Going through the records: Dr Gray (left), a research fellow at the University of Exeter, has compiled a list of the swear words for a book, which features this illustration (right)
‘Reputation had such a big impact on your life and you could lose your job or your home. If a woman had a bad reputation, she could lose her husband.'
Publication: Dr Gray's research is in the monograph ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name calling in Devon, 1540-1640' and in the book ‘How to Swear Like an Elizabethan in Devon’
‘I’ve seen references to men leaving their wives because of gossip, or to women who couldn’t get married because things had been said about them.’
Common themes included illicit sex, low intelligence, dishonesty, witchcraft and disease.
Women were most often called names when they were suspected of having illicit sex, the most common insult being ‘wh*re’.
Other so-called ‘wh*res’ were identified by the place in which they were active - hence why some unfortunate women were called names such as ‘Broom Close Wh*re’, ‘Ditch Wh*re’, ‘Furse Wh*re’ and ‘Hedge Wh*re’.
Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be targeted for dishonesty and lack of intelligence.
Two of the most common insults was ‘rogue’, meaning a disreputable man, and ‘knave’.
For example: ‘Thou art a Knave and an Arrant Knave for thou hast attempted my chastity and thou wouldst have had the carnal knowledge of my body.’
Some of the words and phrases still have the power to shock today, but there are also crucial differences.
13 NAUGHTY SWEAR WORDS FROM OUR ANCESTORS
Tarse
Nippy
Bald-a*se
Hollow-mouthed
Gouty-legged
Copper-nosed
Long-nosed
Tarse
Wittol
Polecat
Cucumber
Rogue
Knave
Dr Gray explained: ‘Today we are dominated by three body parts - and if you insult someone, you call people those things.
‘Whereas, back then, swearing was built around bad behaviours. If you call someone a bastard today, it means they are not a nice man.
‘But in the past it used to refer to illegitimacy. If children were born out of wedlock, it was a disgrace that stayed with them their whole lives.’
Most of the information from the book comes from records of old slander cases, where locals tried to protect their reputation in public.
Dr Gray said: ‘I am slightly apprehensive as to how the public will react to this book. A good portion of the ridicule in the 1500s & 1600s was fairly sharp.
'I hope I have not gone too far this time. The words and terms were outrageous at the time but I hope they are not still shocking.’
ON THE RECORD: HOW DR GRAY FOUND THE SWEAR WORDS IN DOCUMENTED CONVERSATIONS AND LAW DOCUMENTS
Dr Gray's book includes examples of the swear words being used in actual recorded conversations and law documents.
In 1583 a Barnstaple woman was said to have been ‘as often times a bawd as there were sands in the sea’.
Alice Scampe of Georgeham was in 1597 called ‘a witch and an arrant witch’.
And Elizabeth Wercourt ‘being in the churchyard of Georgeham called Anne Culme a strumpet and minion’.
Richard Downe of Bideford complained that John Clement of Monkleigh had said to him ‘thou art a cuckold and a bull head’.
The curate of Hartland, William Churton, who was in office from 1628 until 1646, called his parishioners 'abbey lubbers', 'rascals', 'reprobates' (unredeemed sinners), 'base epicures' (disbelievers in an afterlife or in the divine government of the world) and 'puppies'.
Also, another woman said to her neighbour: ‘Thou art a wh*re and a base drunken wh*re and a spewing drunkard’.
Long-nosed, gouty-legged, copper-nosed: Language historian reveals the long-lost words that will help you swear like an Elizabethan | Daily Mail Online
That’s because the unusual terms are among Britain’s best long-lost swear words, which also include ‘bald-a*se’ and ‘hollow-mouthed’ - indicating a lack of teeth.
Dr Todd Gray MBE has studied historic insults, with ‘gouty-legged’ and ‘copper-nosed’ - from the practice of treating syphilis with copper - among the others.
You gouty-legged ninnycock! Language historian reveals the long-lost words that will help you swear like an Elizabethan
Dr Todd Gray MBE has researched Britain’s best long-lost swear words
These include ‘tarse’, ‘nippy’, ‘bald-a*se’, 'wittol' and ‘hollow-mouthed’
Also on Exeter expert's list are 'polecat', 'cucumber', 'rogue' and 'knave'
By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE
3 October 2016
Daily Mail
You would probably get a confused look in today’s world if you called someone ‘tarse’ or ‘nippy’, but it would have caused plenty of trouble centuries ago.
That’s because the unusual terms are among Britain’s best long-lost swear words, which also include ‘bald-a*se’ and ‘hollow-mouthed’ - indicating a lack of teeth.
Dr Todd Gray MBE has studied historic insults, with ‘gouty-legged’ and ‘copper-nosed’ - from the practice of treating syphilis with copper - among the others.
Old insults: An Elizabethan illustration from Dr Todd Gray's book on swearing, after he studied 40,000 documents from the church and state courts in the 1500s and 1600s
The research fellow at the University of Exeter spent years trawling through 40,000 documents from the church and state courts in the 1500s and 1600s.
Other highlights in 58-year-old Dr Gray’s book published this month include ‘tarse’, meaning p*nis; and ‘wittol’, meaning a husband complicit in his wife’s adultery.
Other old swear words include ‘polecat’, meaning a lewd woman; and ‘cucumber’, which was another word for a cuckold - the husband of an adulteress.
His research is in the monograph ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name calling in Devon, 1540-1640’, and in the book ‘How to Swear Like an Elizabethan in Devon’.
Many of the documents he found were related to slander cases, in which people would complain that they had been verbally insulted.
Dr Gray said: ‘At the very heart of everything is the need to keep a good reputation.
Going through the records: Dr Gray (left), a research fellow at the University of Exeter, has compiled a list of the swear words for a book, which features this illustration (right)
‘Reputation had such a big impact on your life and you could lose your job or your home. If a woman had a bad reputation, she could lose her husband.'
Publication: Dr Gray's research is in the monograph ‘Strumpets and Ninnycocks: Name calling in Devon, 1540-1640' and in the book ‘How to Swear Like an Elizabethan in Devon’
‘I’ve seen references to men leaving their wives because of gossip, or to women who couldn’t get married because things had been said about them.’
Common themes included illicit sex, low intelligence, dishonesty, witchcraft and disease.
Women were most often called names when they were suspected of having illicit sex, the most common insult being ‘wh*re’.
Other so-called ‘wh*res’ were identified by the place in which they were active - hence why some unfortunate women were called names such as ‘Broom Close Wh*re’, ‘Ditch Wh*re’, ‘Furse Wh*re’ and ‘Hedge Wh*re’.
Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be targeted for dishonesty and lack of intelligence.
Two of the most common insults was ‘rogue’, meaning a disreputable man, and ‘knave’.
For example: ‘Thou art a Knave and an Arrant Knave for thou hast attempted my chastity and thou wouldst have had the carnal knowledge of my body.’
Some of the words and phrases still have the power to shock today, but there are also crucial differences.
13 NAUGHTY SWEAR WORDS FROM OUR ANCESTORS
Tarse
Nippy
Bald-a*se
Hollow-mouthed
Gouty-legged
Copper-nosed
Long-nosed
Tarse
Wittol
Polecat
Cucumber
Rogue
Knave
Dr Gray explained: ‘Today we are dominated by three body parts - and if you insult someone, you call people those things.
‘Whereas, back then, swearing was built around bad behaviours. If you call someone a bastard today, it means they are not a nice man.
‘But in the past it used to refer to illegitimacy. If children were born out of wedlock, it was a disgrace that stayed with them their whole lives.’
Most of the information from the book comes from records of old slander cases, where locals tried to protect their reputation in public.
Dr Gray said: ‘I am slightly apprehensive as to how the public will react to this book. A good portion of the ridicule in the 1500s & 1600s was fairly sharp.
'I hope I have not gone too far this time. The words and terms were outrageous at the time but I hope they are not still shocking.’
ON THE RECORD: HOW DR GRAY FOUND THE SWEAR WORDS IN DOCUMENTED CONVERSATIONS AND LAW DOCUMENTS
Dr Gray's book includes examples of the swear words being used in actual recorded conversations and law documents.
In 1583 a Barnstaple woman was said to have been ‘as often times a bawd as there were sands in the sea’.
Alice Scampe of Georgeham was in 1597 called ‘a witch and an arrant witch’.
And Elizabeth Wercourt ‘being in the churchyard of Georgeham called Anne Culme a strumpet and minion’.
Richard Downe of Bideford complained that John Clement of Monkleigh had said to him ‘thou art a cuckold and a bull head’.
The curate of Hartland, William Churton, who was in office from 1628 until 1646, called his parishioners 'abbey lubbers', 'rascals', 'reprobates' (unredeemed sinners), 'base epicures' (disbelievers in an afterlife or in the divine government of the world) and 'puppies'.
Also, another woman said to her neighbour: ‘Thou art a wh*re and a base drunken wh*re and a spewing drunkard’.
Long-nosed, gouty-legged, copper-nosed: Language historian reveals the long-lost words that will help you swear like an Elizabethan | Daily Mail Online
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