by Emily May
Reading: Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
Watching: Glee
Listening to: Salmonella Dub
Making me smile: The baby wax-eyes at my bird feeder
To celebrate the Australian/New Zealand release of my third Regency Romance this month, I'm giving away a copy! The Unmasking of a Lady is on the shelves now as part of the Mills & Boon Summer Blockbuster, a 4-volume book that contains a Desire, a Sweet, a Sexy, and a Regency!
To be in to win, simply have a go at the Regency Slang Quiz below (leave your answers in the comments). If you don't know the answers, just guess -- everyone who enters will go in the draw! (The words are taken from the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose.)
1. A CACKLING FART is:
a) an old lady with wind
b) a hen
c) an egg
An ETERNITY BOX is:
a) a jewellery box
b) a coffin
c) a safe
2. A FANCY MAN is a:
a) pickpocket
b) dandy
c) a man kept by a lady for secret services
3. To be GLIMFLASHY is to:
a) be angry or in a passion
b) be dressed gaudily
c) throw your money around
4. A STAR GAZER is:
a) an astronomer
b) a daydreamer
c) a whore who plies her trade outdoors
The winner will be drawn randomly on Tuesday 7th December and their name posted here. Good Luck!
Note: several of the definitions can be found on my Facebook page
24 comments:
Hi There,
A cackling fart - an Egg
An eternity box - a Coffin
A fancy man - a man kept by a lady for secret services
To be glimflashy - to be angry or in a passion
A star gazer - a whore who plies her trade outdoors
What interesting turns of phrases they had back then.....*g*
Congrats on the release of The Unmasking of a Lady!!
Kim
Well done, Kim! You clearly know your Regency slang!
Yes, I love some of the phrases they used back then -- colourful, amusing, and often extremely vulgar!
Thanks for the congrats :)
1. an egg
EB. a coffin
3. c
4. c
Very much enjoying your romp through the Regency alphabet on your fb page :-) Keep it up!
Thanks for entering, Jo! I'm glad you're enjoying the alphabetical slang on my FB page!
It's hilarious! And pure guesswork!
1. c. an egg( but a. would be much better!
2. b. coffin...well..eternity.
3. c. (now we might say dandy for a fancy man?)
4. a. (well all three answer fits! flash with money...or flashy with dressing!)
5. a and b. fits more than the c!
Is the Unmasking of the Lady as hilarious? Or is it serious?
5.
Good try, Nas!
The Unmasking of a Lady has some amusing moments, but it has some dark moments too. (The heroine is kind of like a Regency Robin Hood, and she strays between the ballrooms and the slums. It was a lot of fun to write!)
Emily, I love all your snippets of the Regency life! I would have got 2 of those right (from pure guesses).
Every time I go out, I've been checking the shelves for the Summer Blockbuster. As soon as I see it, I'll grab one - can't wait for The Unmasking of a Lady!
Ooh, I can't wait to find out what Glimflashy means, Emily -- it's a wonderful word!
Love the sound of your Robin Hood heroine. Like Rachel, am keeping my eyes peeled for the Summer Blockbuster :-)
Hi Emily,
great quiz, except for some reason all my answers but one were 'c'... guess I'm probably no where near right! But here goes:
1)c
2)c
3)c
4)c
5)b
good luck to everyone!
What a fun quizz LOL Emily
1. a
2. b
3. c
4. a
All guesses from me LOL
Have Fun
Helen
No idea what the correct answers are, so thought I'd answer with what I *hope* they are :
1. a
2. b
3. c
4. b
5. c
Thanks, Rachel! I haven't seen the blockbuster on the shelves yet either -- just the author copies!
Michelle, glimflashy means what it least sounds like, if that makes any sense?!
Hi Jess -- nothing wrong with all c's (bar one)! Some of them are definitely right :) Answers tomorrow!
Thanks for the guesses, Helen -- some of them are right!
Very well done, Anita -- your *hopes* were all right except for one! (answers tomorrow)
What a fabulous book/prize, Em!!
Robbie, laughing at your cackling f&^t
These quizzes are such fun, Emily, even though my answers are pure guesses! And after looking at other people's answers I'm starting to wonder about my choices for GLIMFLASHY and STAR GAZER!
- egg (my dad always called them cackleberries!)
- coffin
- secret service provider!
- gaudy dresser
- astronomer (but it's way too fitting, isn't it!)
Looked in the shops today for the Blockbuster but it's not on the shelf yet! :( Perhaps in another day or two!
:)
Sharon
Yeah, I like the cackling fart too, Robbie!
How would you like your cackling farts today? Scrambled? Poached? Boiled?
Tut tut, Sharon ... those last two are too fitting! But then, that's half the fun of Regency slang, I think -- often the definition is totally NOT what you'd guess!
I wonder what expressions of ours will cause hilarity in 200 years time.
Emily,
some great phrases there!! Cackling fart!!! Was 'fart' even a word back then!! LOL =)))
I don't know, Zana! Turn to custard? Go pear shaped? You could have fun compiling a 2011 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 200 years after the Regency one was published!
Mel, you'd be surprised what words were used back then! Some are extremely crude, others are scatological and quite stomach-turning! Of course, a well-bred lady would have been unaware of their existence, but the men...?
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