Aberdeen Fish women loud foul mouthed fishwife fish fag woman sells vendor trade trading selling sell
A fishwife or fish fag is a woman who sells fish. In this context, the word wife means woman rather than married woman. This usage stems from Old English wif (woman) and is akin to the German weib, also meaning "woman". This sense of the word is still used in Modern English in constructions such as midwife and old wives' tale. Fish women were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed as in the expression, To swear like a fishwife. One reason for their outspokenness is that their wares were highly perishable and so lost value if not sold quickly. ondon's traditional fish market was frequented by such types who were known as "the wives of Billingsgate". "They dressed in strong 'stuff' gowns and quilted petticoats; their hair, caps and bonnets were flattened into one indistinguishable mass upon their heads. ... They smoked small pipes of tobacco, took snuff, drank gin and were known for their colourful language." In the 18th century, fishwives frequently appeared in satires as fearsome scourges of fops and foreigners. Their vigorous and decisive mien was contrasted with that of politicians who were, by contrast, portrayed as vacillating and weak. For example, in Isaac Cruikshank's A New Catamaran Expedition!!!, a fleet of fishwives sails across the Channel to terrify the French and shame the Prime Minister, William Pitt.
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