Vulgar language and criminal slang

John Camden Hotten's 'Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words' (1859) is a substantial Victorian-era lexicon cataloguing informal and criminal vocabulary in use across London. Hotten collected terms from a wide range of sources, documenting practices like backslang and rhyming slang and providing numerous illustrative examples. The dictionary was influential in preserving ephemeral slang and served as a resource for later slang lexicographers. Hotten's interest in popular and controversial literature also led him to publish other sensational materials, and his work remains a key reference for historians of English colloquial speech. The book reflects both the richness and the moralizing attitudes of its time.

Thomas Harman's 'A Caveat or Warning for Common Curizitters, vulgarly called Vagabonds' is a seminal 1567 work that purports to catalog the practices and cant of itinerant beggars and criminals. Written from the perspective of a landowner alarmed by 'masterless men,' it provides taxonomies of rogue types and a glossary of criminal slang. The book aimed to expose deceptive practices and support vagrancy legislation, blending moralizing commentary with lurid anecdotes. Its accounts influenced later cant and slang lexicography and were frequently copied into subsequent dictionaries of underworld speech. Modern scholars treat it both as an important source and a biased, sometimes unreliable, portrayal of marginalized communities.

Paul Baker's 'Fabulosa' examines the history, vocabulary, and social role of Polari, the gay cant used in 20th-century Britain. Combining linguistic analysis with cultural history, the book traces Polari's roots, borrowings, and functions as a protective and performative language. Baker includes examples, translations, and discussion of Polari's decline and partial resurgence in contemporary culture. The work highlights how Polari served both as a survival tool under criminalization and as an expression of queer identity. It is an important resource for scholars of sociolinguistics, queer studies, and popular language.

Philibert Joseph Le Roux's 'Dictionnaire Comique Satirique Critique Burlesque, Libre et Proverbial' is an early modern French lexicon cataloguing popular, comic, and vulgar expressions used in Paris. Its entries document crude, satirical, and proverbial language from the streets and entertainments, providing insight into everyday speech and social attitudes. The work influenced other European lexicographers interested in recording nonstandard and underworld vocabulary. Rob Watts notes Grose drew inspiration from Le Roux when compiling his own 'Vulgar Tongue. ' The book is valued both for its linguistic data and as a cultural record of popular Parisian language.