Leaping Over the Sword (Grose 1811 Dictionary)

Leaping Over the Sword

An ancient ceremonial said to constitute a military marriage. A sword being laid down on the ground, the parties to be married joined hands, when the corporal or serjeant of the, company repeated these words:

Leap rogue, and jump whore, And then you are married for evermore.

Whereupon the happy couple jumped hand in hand over the sword, the drum beating a ruffle; and the parties were ever after considered as man and wife.

Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.

Leaky * Least In Sight

Nearby

Nathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang

John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes

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Leaping Over the Sword
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