Lady Rougepen Says: Learn Va-Va-Va-Voom Victorian Vocabulary

Break out your bonnet! It’s time to learn some some phrases from an era when Queen Victoria ruled England, and things were chaste, but interesting.

Butter up the bacon – a statement of excess. An alternate phrase is “over-egging the pudding.”

Cop a mouse – get a black eye

Gigglemug – a face, always on the verge of smiling or laughter

Got the morbs  – feeling blue or depressed, as in “morbid.”

Make a stuffed bird laugh – so ridiculous, cheesy.

Cat-lap – a weak drink, as in it’s too “soft.”

Other interesting history from this era:

The terms “light” or “dark” meat, to describe chicken, came about in the 1890s to replace the “obscene” words chicken “breasts” and “thighs.”

Cupid was a buffed, Adonis-type figure. The Victorians replaced it with a sweet chubby baby, devoid of any sexuality.

I personally love the Victorian era’s class, when it wasn’t being ridiculously prude. The ruffles, the cabbage rose-print on nearly everything. What are some of your favorite things from that era? I hope it’s not Jack the Ripper!

I’m pleased to announce the release of my 8th book, Skoll’s Diary.

Africans and African Americans left Earth in 1900, and went to another planet in The Milky Way to escape mistreatment…

It’s now the year 3005 on that terraformed planet. We get a peek into the life of a bright and sensitive teenaged boy, Skoll, through his journal. He loves his world, but is curious about life on Earth. Then suddenly, an epic event casts him in the middle of a difficult decision.  The fate of the planet’s community is in his hands.

Get the book here. I’d appreciate your leaving a review if you read it. Thanks in advance!