- wherries - 1: any of various light boats: such as a) a long light rowboat made sharp at both ends and used to transport passengers on rivers and about harbors b) a racing scull for one person | 2: a large light barge, lighter, or fishing boat varying in type in different parts of Great Britain
- stevedore - [transitive v] to handle (cargo) as a stevedore; to load or unload the cargo of (a ship) in port [intransitive v] to work as a stevedore
- redingote - A French adaptation of the English "riding coat" (hence the name) for outdoor wear, particularly for travel on horseback. Men's Style: A full-skirted, double-breasted overcoat with wide cuffs and collars, popular in the late 18th/early 19th century, famously worn by Napoleon.
- the great fire - The Great Fire of London started on Sunday, 2 September 1666 in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane belonging to Thomas Farynor (Farriner). Although he claimed to have extinguished the fire, three hours later at 1am, his house was a blazing inferno. At first, few were concerned – fires were such a common occurrence at the time. However, the fire moved quickly down Pudding Lane and carried on down Fish Hill and towards the River Thames. It spread rapidly, helped by a strong wind from the east. When it reached the Thames it hit warehouses stocked with combustible products including as oil and tallow. London had to be almost totally reconstructed. Temporary buildings were erected that were ill-equipped, disease spread easily, and many people died from this and the harsh winter that followed the fire. As well as loss of life, the financial costs were staggering. 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, The Royal Exchange, Guildhall and St. Paul’s Cathedral – built during the Middle Ages – was totally destroyed. The costs were estimated at £10 million.
- man of affairs - formal term for a person, usually a man, deeply involved in business, commerce, or industry, often in a leadership role like an owner or executive, managing significant commercial activities or deals, but the phrase can also appear in literature for characters handling complex personal or family matters. In a broader sense (especially in older texts or novels), it can mean someone managing someone else's important personal or family business, like finances or property.
- negus - a hot drink of port, sugar, lemon, and spices
- peccadillos - small, relatively unimportant offenses or sins
- flouted - openly disregard (a rule, law or convention)
- demimonde - (French for "half-world") refers to a social group on the fringes of respectable society, originally describing 19th-century courtesans maintained by wealthy lovers but now broadly meaning any disreputable or underworld sphere like criminals, sensationalist journalists, or bohemian artists, existing alongside but separate from mainstream life
- gaming hell - historical gambling dens, particularly in 18th/19th-century England
- mews ("wait in the mews") - quaint, historic stable lanes now filled with desirable homes
- bluestocking - an intellectual or scholarly woman, a term that originated from the 18th-century Bluestockings Society, a literary circle in England known for intellectual discussion, especially among women, challenging norms by valuing learning over frivolous pastimes like cards. While initially a derisive label for educated women, the women of the society embraced it, making it a symbol of female intellect, education, and early feminism, despite its often pejorative undertones
- blunt - common term for money or ready cash; a form of thieves' cant (slang used by criminals) that allowed people to speak in public without others understanding them
- bobs - schillings
- peremptory - (especially of a person's manner or actions) insisting on immediate attention or obedience, especially in a brusquely imperious way
- folly - a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park
- curule - a type of ancient Roman folding chair with X-shaped, curved legs, symbolizing high political rank, used by magistrates like consuls and praetors, and later inspiring neoclassical furniture designs featuring similar curved, intersecting forms. It signifies authority, status, and classical design, with "curule chair" or "curule seat" describing the historical object and the style
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dec 26 2025 +