The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is a fascinating and bawdy window on history, allowing a view of the lives of ordinary people, lived out in inns, houses of pleasure, at the races, in the prize ring or the cock-fighting pit.

It captures a venal society with its own rich language, alive to the nuances of the everyday world. The hazards of life in this world were the nasty 'priggers' and 'bully cocks' with their underhand schemes to part the naive 'nincumpoop' and 'clod hopper' from their fortunes. For the rogues themselves - the 'mud larks,' 'palliards,' and 'ostlers' - the dangers were just as grave. If the pox did not ensure that their lives were nasty, brutish and short, the 'beak' certainly would.

As a guide to the history of contemporary slang it is indispensable. As a living social history it brings the reader in touch with a past as lively, bright and chaotic as the present.