Illustrated by John Ward RA. With illustrations on lining papers and 18 pages of illustrations on different coloured papers.
Contents
Bonjour, Monsieur Pantalon -- A Talent for Farce -- Necklaces and Beads -- Fathers of the Chapel -- Beguines and Bigots -- The Canting Crew -- Bedlam Beggars and Lazars -- The Bearded Lady -- To be your Valentine -- Thou art Peter -- Petermen and Petards -- Tears of the Tankard -- Coach and Horses -- The Almighty Dollar -- A Pig for his Page -- Tittle Est Amen -- Bibliography -- Index of Words
Summary Note
The idea for this book came to Gillian Edwards one day when she idly wondered about the origin of the word pants and traced it back to the Greek saint Pantaleone. She decided that there must be other expressions which, in an age when religion interlocked with life at every level, had their roots in the teaching or traditions of the Church and have now lost that connexion. Soon she found far more than she could treat in one book. Her are some of the most intriguing of her discoveries including the strange stories of St. Uncumber, the bearded lady, and why the smallest pig in the litter is called a tantony. Here too she tells how a bead was once a prayer and a chapel a little cloak, and traces the connexion between parrots and pierrots, Blue Peter and breakers of safes. All those who enjoy collecting useless information and are fascinated by the development of our language will delight in Uncumber and Pantaloon. [Dust-jacket].
Binding Note
Brown cloth boards. Yellow spine label lettered in red. Dust-jacket designed and illustrated by John Ward RA.