We recently featured the Bang Up gentleman’s hat, and you may have been wondering where that expression came from.
Grose, F. (1811). A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence. United Kingdom: C. Chappel.
” Bang–up (adj.) “excellent, first-rate, in fine style” (1810) probably is shortened from a phrase such as bang up to the mark. Compare slang slap-up “excellent, first-rate” (by 1823).”bang-up | Search Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com)
I found the expression “Bang up to the mark” used in an 1805 The Gentleman’s Diary Or, The Mathematical Repository; an Almanack and (1809). Yes, Or No? A Musical Farce, in Two Acts. However the expression (bang-up and bang-up to the mark) appears more frequently in comic songs, poetry, plays, and other gentleman tomes by 1810. As Grose’s dictionary indicates, its origins are likely from the Whips, notable horsemen who loved a dashing carriage and fast horse.
Here are some similar expressions: Regency Reader Questions: Smashing
