What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew

by Daniel Pool

  tinderbox—The way to start a fire in the days before matches. One took the flint out of the box and struck a piece of metal against it, hoping the spark would fly into the small pile of cotton rags in the box and set them alight. Whereupon one had to light a match from the smoldering rags and then light one’s fire or candle with that. Pip remarks on the aural difficulty of household theft in the days of the tinderbox when he tries to sneak food out of the Gargerys’ to Abel Magwitch in the dead of night: “There was no doing it in the night, for there was no getting a light by easy friction then; to have got one, I must have struck it out of flint and steel and have made a noise like [a] pirate rattling his chains.”

  tinker—An itinerant fixer of pots and pans. The trade was often associated with the gypsies, and there clung to it a sinister and unsavory air.

  tippet—An article of apparel (often made from a dead furry animal) that was slung over the shoulder so it hung down the chest on either side of one’s neck.

  tithes—An amount paid in kind to the local parish clergyman by each farmer or tradesman equal to one tenth of his year’s produce. In 1840 the payment of tithes was “commuted” to one of money.

  toffee—Taffy.

  Tokay—A sweet and rich Hungarian white wine. Favored for dessert.

  top—At a dance or ball, the place in the room where the orchestra was, generally opposite the door. The top couple was the couple at the top of the two lines of men and women who made up a country-dance “set.” They led off the figures. It was considered an honor to be asked to be top couple.

  top boots—High boots used basically for riding, with a lighter colored area at the top that at one time had been simply the inside of the boot top turned down.

  top sawyer—Since the top sawyer in a sawpit is the man who works on top and gets the better part of the job, the term came to denote someone in a good or superior position. Describing the spring wind whirling through the streets of London, Dickens writes in Our Mutual Friend: “Every street was a sawpit, and there were no top-sawyers; every passenger was an under-sawyer, with the sawdust blinding him and choking him.”

  Tory—The conservative party in English politics, as opposed to the more liberal Whigs. In general, the Tories supported the king, the Church of England and the old way of doing things. They changed their name to the Conservatives in the 1830s and 1840s while the Whigs became the Liberals.

  tosspot—Someone who drank a lot.

  town traveler—A commercial traveler who worked in the town where the home office was located.

  tracery—The metal or stone work joining together the different parts of the top of a stained-glass window.

  Tractarian—See Oxford Movement.

  tradesman—A shopkeeper or anyone else who bought and sold things. One could not be in trade and still mingle with the quality, e.g., be presented at court. “ . . . the selling of goods by retail is a shameful and infamous practice,” says Thackeray with heavy irony in Vanity Fair, “meriting the contempt and scorn of all real gentlemen.”

  training college—A college that trained teachers for the national schools. If one successfully completed the college’s program, one was supposedly in better shape to take the exam for the certificate that permitted one to teach. McChoakumchild in Hard Times is the dreadful product of this system, and Bradley Headstone in Our Mutual Friend is, inferentially, also a training-college graduate. Thomas Hardy presents a rather unsympathetic portrait of the Melchester Training College for Women that Sue Bridehead attends in Jude the Obscure—one night, of course, she simply runs away from it.

  tram—A streetcar.

  transept—In a church built in the shape of a cross, the transept was the section perpendicular to the nave and bisected by it to form the two arms of the cross. Sometimes each such arm was itself designated a transept.

  transportation—The practice of shipping English criminals overseas for punishment, which flourished until the mid-1800s. Sentences of seven years or life were not uncommon. Until 1776, criminals were transported to the American colonies; thereafter, to Australia. Some 140,000 people were transported to Australia between 1810 and 1852, the overwhelming majority for theft. Ultimately transportation was replaced with hard labor in England.

  trap—A little light carriage that had springs.

  treacle—Originally a sweet, medicinal compound. There was a “treacle” Bible (1568), so called because it translated Jer. viii, 22, “Is there no tryacle in Gilead, Is there no phisitin there?” By the 1800s it had become merely what Americans call molasses.

  treadmill—A nasty device consisting of a great iron cylinder made to revolve by the marching of convicts around the steps fixed on to it, which descended under their feet as they did so. The idea was to have convicts doing something as senseless as possible; also, it was exhausting, especially because it was worked by several convicts at once, whose movements had to be constantly coordinated to keep them going properly. The device was finally banned in 1898.

  Treasury—Basically the center of political action within the government, it was nominally run by the Board of Treasury, which consisted of the first lord of the treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the three junior lords of the treasury. Since the position of first lord was always held by the prime minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer became the de facto head of the department. He prepared the budget and was chief financial officer of the government. Meanwhile the junior lords spent their time assisting the parliamentary (or patronage) secretary to the treasury, who was the party’s patronage man and the “whip” in charge of seeing to it that members voted. The prime minister and the leaders of his party in the House of Commons always sat on the front bench to the right of the Speaker, which was called the Treasury Bench.

  trick—In a game like whist, a “trick” was the name given to a single round of cards won by one of the players.

  tripos—The final honors exams in certain subjects at Cambridge, especially math and classics, so called because the examiner had at one time sat on a small three-legged stool.

  troop—The smallest unit of military organization in the cavalry, corresponding to a company in the infantry.

  trooper—A private in the cavalry.

  truck system—Paying one’s employees in something other than cash.

  truckle bed—The same thing as a trundle bed, i.e., one that could be slid under something else during the day time.

  tucker—A piece of lace in lady’s garments to cover the upper part of the chest.

  tuft—In one of the more obvious class distinctions at Oxford, the nobility wore special little tassels on their caps to denote their aristocratic status. People who sucked up to them were known as “tuft hunters.”

  tumbler—A big drinking glass. They originally had pointed bottoms so one couldn’t put them down until one had finished everything in them. Later a tumbler was merely a big drinking container with a normal, flat base.

  turbans—A popular ladies’ fashion in the early part of the century consisted of wearing imitation Middle Eastern headdress.

  turbot—A big flatfish. One mid-century etiquette advisor lauded the changeover from dinner service à la française (putting all the plates on the table so the guests could serve themselves) to dinner à la russe (footmen handing everything around discreetly from diner to diner) because it meant one didn’t have to eat turbot so much anymore. It had been served frequently before because it looked more impressive on the table than a lot of silly little fish.

  turf—Chopped-up slabs of grass and earth, sometimes sold in London for use in birdcages. Sections six inches in diameter went for two to four pence a dozen. “Turf” also meant the sport of horse racing.

  Turkey carpet—A rug supposedly or actually imported from Turkey that was made of wool and looked like velvet.

  turnips—They were grown as feed for sheep and cattle on the one hand and as a crop that rested fields usually planted with crops like corn. A major ingredient in the “revolution” i
n farming from the old, prescientific way.

  turnkey—A jailer.

  turnpike—An old-fashioned way of funding local road repair through private enterprise. The theory was to create local turnpike trusts, administered by commissioners who would use the toll money they collected to keep the part of the road subject to their toll in good repair. Ultimately there were over 1,100 trusts and 23,000 miles of turnpike road. Sample tolls were 21/2 pence a mile for a stagecoach in winter, 3 pence in summer. The ever-righteous Mr. Bold in The Warden, perhaps straining at gnats, goes after a local turnpike woman, “rode through the gate himself, paying the toll, then brought an action against the gate-keeper and proved that all people coming up a certain by-lane, and going down a certain other by-lane, were toll-free.”

  turtle—A very genteel, much fancied dish, either as flesh or soup, among the quality, so much so that it spawned the imitation foods called “mock turtle.” A staple of official banquets.

  turves—Plural of turf.

  tutor—A Fellow at Oxford or Cambridge who had taken on the responsibility for teaching one or more undergraduates.

  twelfth cakes—Cakes made for Twelfth Night. They contained a coin or bean that made the finder the “king” or “queen” of the celebration.

  Twelfth Night—January 5, the night before the twelfth day after Christmas, on which day Christmas festivities traditionally ended. January 6 was Epiphany.

  two-penny post—The local mail delivery system within London and certain other large cities, which was run for many years as an enterprise separate from the national mail system.

  typhus—A disease transmitted by body lice and found typically in dirty places.

  under—See upper.

  union—Short for the workhouse, because workhouses in a given local area were often built after 1834 by a group or union of several individual parishes. In a different context entirely, Union referred to the act that brought together England and Scotland in 1603 and 1707 or the act that united England and Ireland in 1801.

  up—In trains or coaches “up” always meant toward London. With respect to the universities, “up” always meant toward Oxford or Cambridge (e.g., to “go up”) just as to be “sent down” meant to be expelled from one’s university and to “go down” meant to leave it.

  upper—In a large household, the upper servants had more seniority than the servants below them and, in the case of the butler and the housekeeper, the right to order all the others around. Upper servants included the butler, the housekeeper, and the lady’s maid. Unlike the other servants, the butler and housekeeper generally each had their own room, the butler his pantry and the housekeeper her own room from which to direct the affairs of the household, and they were entitled to respect, e.g., the housekeeper was always addressed as “Mrs.,” that the other servants did not merit. Within a category of servants who reported to the upper servants, e.g., housemaids, upper was used, confusingly enough, in a different sense to denote a difference in tasks. A large household, for example, might have an upper and under housemaid; the former responsible for getting flowers and arranging decorations, the latter for polishing, cleaning and scrubbing; neither housemaid, however, would be an upper servant like the housekeeper. In the context of national politics, the upper house in Parliament was the House of Lords.

  usher—An assistant to the headmaster of a school or one of the teachers.

  vacation—The interval between terms of either the universities or the high court sessions in London.

  vail—A tip expected from a departing guest by the servants in that household who had waited on him.

  valet—Called the gentleman’s gentleman, a not inappropriate title in view of his status as an upper servant. His job was to get his master’s clothes out, to keep his shoes and hats in good shape, to stand behind him at dinner if required, and accompany him on his travels—the male equivalent of being a lady’s maid.

  van—A covered-over, lightweight version of the heavy waggons used for hauling goods around. Sometimes used for transporting people, too.

  Vauxhall—A cheerful, eleven-acre pleasure garden across the Thames from London that flourished until the mid-1800s.

  vellum—A parchment made out of sheep or goat skin used for extra good writing paper.

  velveteen—A fabric that looked like velvet but was actually made from cotton.

  Venerable—A term of respect used in addressing an archdeacon of the Church of England.

  verger—The man who looked after the inside of a church.

  vermin—Animals that killed game or the eggs or young of game. Vermin included stoats, owls, weasels, otters, foxes, hawks, and badgers. It was among the tasks of gamekeepers to prevent vermin from killing the young pheasant and other creatures breeding on their masters’ estates.

  Very Reverend—Form of address to a dean of the Church of England.

  vestry—A room in a church where sacred vessels were kept and where the clergyman dressed for the service; it was where the bride and groom signed the parish register immediately after the wedding ceremony. It was also where the vestry, a group of men from the parish, met to look after the parish’s or the church’s affairs and, in particular, to set the church rate and, in some parishes, designate the churchwardens.

  vicar—A parish priest appointed to a living owned by someone else. As a consequence, the vicar shared the tithes with the owner, while a rector, an incumbent who had exclusive rights to a living, got all the tithes. In the 1800s, vicars were considered of slightly less status than rectors.

  victoria—A low, open carriage with four wheels, very popular for ladies’ driving, e.g., in Hyde Park, from about the mid-century on. Usually seating only one or two people.

  vinaigrette—A little box made of silver or a similar metal containing vinegar and having holes in the top. It was used to revive fainting ladies.

  ving-et-un—The same as the card game 21, that is, one tried to get as close to 21 with the value of one’s cards as possible without going over that amount.

  viscount—The peer who ranked just under an earl and just above a baron. His wife, perhaps unsurprisingly, was a viscountess and he was a “Right Honourable” and was addressed as “Lord———.”

  visiting card—The calling card with one’s name on it that one left when paying a call or when merely leaving one’s card.

  visitation—An inspection tour of a parish or diocese by a bishop or archdeacon.

  wafer—A little round thing made out of flour and gum or a similar substance, which one could dampen and then place on a letter to seal it.

  waggon—The great, heavy, lumbering vehicle—sometimes with eight wheels or more and ten or more horses—used to transport goods in prerailroad England, especially when speed was no object (they traveled at a speed of only a few miles per hour). When David Copperfield gets into a stagecoach after overeating, there are jokes about “the greater expediency of my travelling by waggon.”

  waggonette—A four-wheel light carriage used for fun trips, e.g., picnics, and general middle-class use in the country. It seated some six people on two seats facing in toward the center of the vehicle and was popular after the mid-century.

  wainscoting—Wainscot was a kind of fancy oak imported from Russia, Holland or Germany. The term “wainscoting” was applied to panels that were originally made out of such oak.

  waistcoat—A vest.

  waistband—The part of a skirt or pair of pants around the waist in which money was sometimes kept.

  Walker—An expression that meant “nonsense!” Used in conjunction with “Hookey” for the full effect. “Do you know what my great grandfather’s name was?” says Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield to Steerforth. “No,” he replies. “It was Walker, my sweet pet,” says Miss Mowcher, “and he came of a long line of Walkers, that I inherit all the Hookey estates from.”

  ward—A child looked after by a guardian. Wards in Chancery were children either directly looked after by the court itself or for whom it ap
pointed a guardian. Chancery wards could not marry without the court’s consent.

  warden—The head of a prison or a hospital or similar institution, as in the Trollope novel of that name. Not to be confused with a churchwarden.

  wardrobe—A big wooden cupboard either for hanging clothes in or else with shelves or drawers for putting them in. It usually stood in a bedroom.

  warrant officer—An officer in the Royal Navy like a boatswain or carpenter or surgeon whose position was attained by warrant rather than by commission.

  washballs—Little round balls of soap used for washing or shaving.

  washhand stand—A table in a bedroom that held a washing basin, pitcher of water, soap dish, and other washing paraphernalia. Generally, it would be refilled by the maid several times a day, as needed, before meals and before the chamber’s occupant retired for the night.

  washhouse—A building in which to wash clothes.

  washing stand—Same thing as a washhand stand.

  watch—Men appointed in each parish, usually only in towns, to walk the streets at night, periodically calling out the time and the weather and supposedly keeping criminals at bay. They were usually elderly, ineffectual individuals, and it was considered sport in London at one time for young men to tip over the street booths in which the watchmen sat when not making their rounds.

  watch and ward—To keep watch over someone.

  watch guard—A chain or ribbon attached to a watch to keep it from disappearing.

  water butt—A barrel that was put under the eaves to catch rain water for washing, etc.

  water cart—A cart used to keep the dust down on dirty streets. It carried water in a barrel or similar container that was released through a tiny series of holes onto the roads as the vehicle was driven through the streets.

  watering place—Places like Bath and fancy seaside resorts where one went in order to drink or bathe on the theory that the water would cure one of some ailment. (Gout was a popular ailment at Bath.)