Obscure slang
First time posting, etc. etc. etc.
You lot have been wonderful at digging out odd bits of information, and I've got a question what has been giving me an awful lot of trouble as of late.
So I have a character who, for the sake of simplicity, will be called a vampire. This vampire has been around for ages and ages, and they have largely stopped noticing things like language trends and changes in social norms. As a result, their speech is very structured and awkward to a "modern" listener/reader.
What I need to cobble together is a collection of obscure and outdated slang for this character to use when attempting to be less formal. American would be preferable, as this character has lived in the United States for quite awhile, but old slang from the UK is fine as well. I've run searches on various search engines and all I seem to get are either giant, sprawling databases that cover such a wide range of categories that I can't utilize them or unreliable lists cobbled together by random people who may or may not know what they are talking about.
Specifically, I would need terms for things that are favourable and unfavourable (analgous to awesome, horrible, etc.) and terms of endearment, most likely for a female. Generic insults are also welcome. Time frame is 1920s-1960s for the United States, Victorian era for the UK. The more obscure and outdated the better, as I would like to actively throw off the other characters in this piece when the vampire uses slang. (In addition, odd, outdated names for random objects might be fun. You know, in line with calling a car a "horseless carriage." )
((edit)): The character is aristocratic by birth but would not be above associating with lower classes, though the language that would stick would likely be middle-to-upper-class. In addition, terms of endearment would be used in a platonic, semi-condescending manner. I've gotten good suggestions on this front, but I want to stress that I would like to use more obscure language--things people either don't know or just wouldn't use these days. If it helps, think of the character as someone who has learned English largely through 18th- and 19th-century novels. Their speech is flowery by nature and likely wouldn't change structure even with the addition of slang terms. This is partially why I am looking for utterly outdated terms--I want this character to sound alien. American slang would be limited to coastal regions (mostly east coast), British to London.
Apologies for the odd, vague question. But I could use whatever you all might be able to point me toward. Thankee quite kindly in advance, and do take care.
You lot have been wonderful at digging out odd bits of information, and I've got a question what has been giving me an awful lot of trouble as of late.
So I have a character who, for the sake of simplicity, will be called a vampire. This vampire has been around for ages and ages, and they have largely stopped noticing things like language trends and changes in social norms. As a result, their speech is very structured and awkward to a "modern" listener/reader.
What I need to cobble together is a collection of obscure and outdated slang for this character to use when attempting to be less formal. American would be preferable, as this character has lived in the United States for quite awhile, but old slang from the UK is fine as well. I've run searches on various search engines and all I seem to get are either giant, sprawling databases that cover such a wide range of categories that I can't utilize them or unreliable lists cobbled together by random people who may or may not know what they are talking about.
Specifically, I would need terms for things that are favourable and unfavourable (analgous to awesome, horrible, etc.) and terms of endearment, most likely for a female. Generic insults are also welcome. Time frame is 1920s-1960s for the United States, Victorian era for the UK. The more obscure and outdated the better, as I would like to actively throw off the other characters in this piece when the vampire uses slang. (In addition, odd, outdated names for random objects might be fun. You know, in line with calling a car a "horseless carriage." )
((edit)): The character is aristocratic by birth but would not be above associating with lower classes, though the language that would stick would likely be middle-to-upper-class. In addition, terms of endearment would be used in a platonic, semi-condescending manner. I've gotten good suggestions on this front, but I want to stress that I would like to use more obscure language--things people either don't know or just wouldn't use these days. If it helps, think of the character as someone who has learned English largely through 18th- and 19th-century novels. Their speech is flowery by nature and likely wouldn't change structure even with the addition of slang terms. This is partially why I am looking for utterly outdated terms--I want this character to sound alien. American slang would be limited to coastal regions (mostly east coast), British to London.
Apologies for the odd, vague question. But I could use whatever you all might be able to point me toward. Thankee quite kindly in advance, and do take care.