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.

by John Camden Hotten

[¹⁶] I am reminded by an eminent philologist that the origin of QUEER is seen in the German, QUER, crooked,—hence “odd.” I agree with this etymology, but still have reason to believe that the word was first used in this country in a cant sense. Is it mentioned any where as a respectable term before 1500? If not, it had a vulgar or cant introduction into this country.

[¹⁷] Booget properly signifies a leathern wallet, and is probably derived from the low Latin, BULGA. A tinker’s budget is from the same source.

[¹⁸] Which, literally translated, means:

Go out, good girls, and look and see,

Go out, good girls, and see;

For all your clothes are carried away,

And the good man has the money.

[¹⁹] Who wrote about the year 1610.

[²⁰] Gipseys of Spain, vol. i., p. 18. Borrow further commits himself by remarking that “Head’s Vocabulary has always been accepted as the speech of the English Gipseys.” Nothing of the kind. Head professed to have lived with the Gipseys, but in reality filched his words from Decker and Brome.

[²¹] The modern meanings of a few of the old cant words are given in brackets.