One of the charms of Gilbert's dialogs and librettos is his use of unusual and obscure words. Some of these were obscure even when the shows were written, and others have left common usage in the century that followed. Herewith are some of the more interesting ones.
| be firm, my pecker | This means "keep a stiff upper lip," American 20th Century slang notwithstanding. |
| Tink-a-Tank | This is onomatopoeia, for the sound of a guitar being plucked |
| reversed in banc | the judges opinion was reversed by the bench of a higher court. |
| Ancient Bailey | Old Bailey, the chief criminal court of London. Poetic license enforced, here. |
| rich as the Gurneys | The Gurneys founded a banking house that later went bankrupt. but like the executives of Enron, they escaped very rich. |
| fudge | does not yet mean a candy, but utter nonsense |
| passing fair | very lovely indeed |
| Camberwell and Peckham | boring suburbs, rather like Levittown |
| concentrated otto | attar of roses |
| al a Watteau | Jean-Antoine Watteau, a French painter of pastoral scenes |
| nice dilemma | nice dilemma means one requiring close reasoning |
| Pinafore | A little girl's washable bib, pinned in front of her garments. A ridiculous name for a ship, suggested by Sullivan |
| quarterdeck | rear upper deck, where the officer's quarters are. |
| Boatswain | "Bos'n," in charge of anchors, rigging and ropes |
| excellent jacky | rum soaked chewing tobacco |
| treacle | molasses |
| soft tommy | bread |
| cony | a rabbit |
| poloney | boloney or bologna |
| Ralph | pronounced "Rafe." |
| ship a selvagee | put a hank of rope to its proper use |
| KCB | Sir Joseph is a Knight Commander of Bath, an appointed position and apparently is lower in social status than the Captain, who appears to be from a wealthy family. |
| solecism | any mistake in grammar or idiom |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | An administrative appointee. He need not know anything about the navy, and this is what Gilbert is spoofing. |
| grog | rum, diluted 5:1 to prevent the sailor from getting drunk too quickly |
| What cheer | How did you do? Also, a town in Iowa. |
| Fain | would be glad to |
| Highlows | leather shoes that lace above the ankle. |
| ambitious brill | a small flat fish, smaller than the turbot it is being compared to. |
| cat's paw | an old tale tells of a monkey using the paw of a nearby cat to pick a hot chestnut out of the fire, sparing his own paw. |
| Gillow's | Waring and Gillow, a London store specializing in furnishings. (The London store is no more) |
| Hymen | The god of marriage |
| celerity | speed. The standing theater joke is that "go to your cabin with Celerity" is followed by the arch question, "who's playing Celerity tonight?" |
| no telephone... | The telephone was invented in 1876, so this 1878 mention may be the first in musical theater. |
| baby farming | baby sitters or child care providers, including wet nurses. |
References, see: