A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words / Used at the Present Day in the Streets of London; the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; the Houses of Parliament; the Dens of St. Giles; and the Palaces of St. James.

A CADGER’S MAP OF A BEGGING DISTRICT.
EXPLANATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHICS.
USED AT THE PRESENT DAY IN THE STREETS OF LONDON; THE UNIVERSITIES OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE; THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; THE DENS OF ST. GILES; AND THE PALACES OF ST. JAMES.
PRECEDED BY A HISTORY OF CANT AND VULGAR LANGUAGE; WITH GLOSSARIES OF TWO SECRET LANGUAGES, SPOKEN BY THE WANDERING TRIBES OF LONDON, THE COSTERMONGERS, AND THE PATTERERS.
By A LONDON ANTIQUARY.
“Rabble-charming words, which carry so much wild-fire wrapt up in them.”—South.
SECOND EDITION, REVISED, WITH TWO THOUSAND ADDITIONAL WORDS.
LONDON: JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, PICCADILLY. 1860.
LONDON: PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND GREENING, GRAYSTOKE-PLACE, FETTER-LANE, E.C.

The First Edition of this work had a rapid sale, and within a few weeks after it was published the entire issue passed from the publisher’s shelves into the hands of the public. A Second Edition, although urgently called for, was not immediately attempted. The First had been found incomplete and faulty in many respects, and the author determined to thoroughly revise and recast before again going to press. The present edition, therefore, will be found much more complete than the First; indeed, I may say that it has been entirely rewritten, and that, whereas the First contained but 3,000 words, this gives nearly 5,000, with a mass of fresh illustrations, and extended articles on the more important slang terms—HUMBUG, for instance. The notices of a Lingua Franca element in the language of London vagabonds is peculiar to this edition.
My best thanks are due to several correspondents for valuable hints and suggestions as to the probable etymologies of various colloquial expressions.