wherein Liz asks for help with British insults

[edenfalling]

Question for people who know British slang:

What is a good 1940s equivalent of calling somebody a wanker and/or an arse? I have been told that both those insults are too modern, but I can't think of any alternatives.

watervole suggested 'bounder,' but also said that might be a bit early (though it does have something of the sound of C. S. Lewis, I suppose).

'Bastard' is a bit too strong, 'git' isn't strong enough, and basically I am stumped.

Help, please?

[Context: In 1948, Edmund Pevensie is writing an informal letter to his sister Susan, in which he briefly talks about the man she was... whatever the 1940s equivalent of 'out on a date with' the previous week.]

Comments

[ineptshieldmaid]

Oh, right, I meant to look that up for you. The Oxford English Dictionary has this nifty historical thesaurus now, let me see what I can unearth starting from 'wanker' and working back.

It lists for a contemptible person (where the date is the first OED citation, so it was probably in use before that):

roach - 1929 (used for both men and women, esp. prostitutes in the latter case)
dirty dog - 1928
arsehole - 1935
squiff - 1939
yuck - 1943 (A fool; a boor; anyone disliked or despised. - seems to be used for stupidity or with classist implication, not so much with 'inappropriate to date my sister' implications)

What might also be appropriate are disrespectful slang terms for American soldiers - it'd be about the right time period for a British girl to be going about with American soldiers. Yank? I'm not sure what else, all the terms I know are Australian-specific.

[edenfalling]

Historical thesaurus? That is nifty!

Do you have dates for the first citations of pillock and tosser?

Alas, I cannot use American-soldier-specific terms, since Edmund also says that he went to school with the younger brother of the man in question.

[ineptshieldmaid]

Pillock - 1967 (1500s for uses meaning 'penis')
Tosser - 1977

Git might be appropriate? Their earliest citation is 1946, but things are usually circulating in spoken English for a while before first citation.

Low-life is also an option (citations range 1911-1971)

The OED's latest citation for 'bounder' is 1930, but that's no guarantee that it dropped out of use bang on that date.

[ineptshieldmaid]

Ah, I see 'git' and 'bounder' have already come up! And yes, I agree, slightly outdated slang would be appropriate for Lewis' characters, since his English wasn't exactly at the cutting edge of 1940s slang.

[edenfalling]

Lewis and "cutting edge" really do not belong in the same sentence. :-)

Is there a citation date on 'arse' as opposed to 'arsehole'?

[ineptshieldmaid]

There's a citation for 1784 where William Blake wrote "call me an arse" in a letter, then scratched it out in favour of "ass" (donkey), but no printed citations until the 1960s. I'm inclined to think that if 'arsehole' is in circulation, 'arse' probably is.