Ever heard of a queer plunger? I saw it on a list of "obsolete words that should never have gone out of style" - a bit of online timewastery forwarded by a colleague.
Here's the definition and its source:
Queer plungers: Cheats who throw themselves into the water, in order that they may be taken up by their accomplices, who carry them to one of the houses appointed by the Humane Society for the recovery of drowned persons, where they are rewarded by the society with a guinea each; and the supposed drowned person, pretending he was driven to that extremity by great necessity, also frequently sent away with a contribution in his pocket.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose:
Might such entrepreneurial approaches to survival be making a comeback? Will evicted families or sanctioned young people facing destitution start throwing themselves in the river to claim a humane society award? They'll be out of luck if they do.
What is now the Royal Humane Society (previously the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned) set out its tariff when it set up in the late 18th century. It was originally more generous than the definition above suggests:
to pay 2 guineas to anyone attempting a rescue in the Westminster area of London
to pay 4 guineas to anyone successfully bringing someone back to life
to pay 1 guinea to anyone - often a pub-owner - allowing a body to be treated in his house
This is serious money. A guinea in 1780 would be worth £160 today. Sadly, the society nowadays offers only medals and certificates. Its website confirms the background to the queer plunger definition. It explains how the reward system soon gave rise to widespread scam among what it calls, rather disparagingly for a humane society, "the down-and-outs of London".
PJ White is editor of Youth Money
