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blunt

English translation: money

12:53 Aug 25, 2008
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: blunt
London, 1820s

A footpad attacks a lady and a gentleman in a street at night and demands their valuables.

"Duncan began slowly to undo the pin and then the fob, but he did not hand them over, but weighed them in the palm of his hand.
'Do you need these so badly?' he asked calmly.
'Course I do. D'you think I'd hold you up if I weren't driv to it? Now, 'and 'em over. And yer blunt too."

No idea what the blunt is. I'm not even sure if it's a noun or an adjective- is it "give me your blunt" (whatever that would be) or "you are blunt", meaning "stupid"?.
allp
Poland
Local time: 05:54
Selected answer:money
Explanation:
It's an obsolete British English slang term for money, commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries, but fallen into disuse since then.
See it so defined in http://www.heyerlist.org/slang.html which is a list of slang words in the Regency novels of Georgette Heyer, a prolific writer of meticulously-research novels set in the period.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-08-25 14:37:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Should read: "meticulously-researched".
Selected response from:

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:54
Grading comment
Definitely that's it. Thank you, Jack, for the explanation and for the very useful link.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +7money
Jack Doughty
3definition below (type of cigar)
Enza Longo
Summary of reference entries provided
David Moore (X)

  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
definition below (type of cigar)


Explanation:
Blunt (cigar) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A blunt is a cigar which is wider than a cigarillo and not quite as wide as a traditional cigar. These cigars typically consist of two main parts; ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blunt_(cigar) - 28k - Cached - Similar pages

Enza Longo
Canada
Local time: 23:54
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Ken Cox: How many muggers would be interested in stealing someone's cigar? Furthermore, given the time and setting 'blunt' could easily be Cockney slang
38 mins
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44 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
money


Explanation:
It's an obsolete British English slang term for money, commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries, but fallen into disuse since then.
See it so defined in http://www.heyerlist.org/slang.html which is a list of slang words in the Regency novels of Georgette Heyer, a prolific writer of meticulously-research novels set in the period.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-08-25 14:37:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Should read: "meticulously-researched".

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:54
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 518
Grading comment
Definitely that's it. Thank you, Jack, for the explanation and for the very useful link.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ken Cox: certainly makes sense
4 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Paula Vaz-Carreiro: Yes indeed! I have read a couple of her novels! "The Grand Sophy" is very funny! Excellent link too, Jack.
7 mins
  -> Thank you. I was introduced to them by my wife, who is a great fan of hers, and I like them too. Very different from Jane Austen, but almost as authentic, quite a feat considering how much later they were written.
agree  David Moore (X): See reference comment
12 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Jean-Louis S.
26 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Demi Ebrite
57 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  Andres Pacheco
58 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  JaneTranslates: Thanks for the Heyer link! I'm a big fan and have at least one copy of each. I've figure out most of the slang but look forward to learning the rest.
2 hrs
  -> Thank you. Glad to have been of use.
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Reference comments


55 mins
Reference

Reference information:
From "The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary":

Blunt (noun): ....... 3. slang: Ready money (1812)

David Moore (X)
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 44
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