stills
Preserved but no longer current.
Undertakers’ slang term for STILL-BORN children. The fee paid by nurses and others for their disposal is usually 2s. 6d. A separate coffin is never given; the STILLS are quietly introduced into one containing an adult about to be buried. STILLS are allowed to accumulate at an undertaker’s until they sometimes number as many as a dozen. Some little time back a very bulky coffin was opened, and found to contain a large quantity of small corpses packed carefully round a large corpse.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “stills” mean?
Undertakers’ slang term for STILL-BORN children. The fee paid by nurses and others for their disposal is usually 2s. 6d. A separate coffin is never given; the STILLS are quietly introduced into one containing an adult about to be buried. STILLS are allowed to accumulate at an undertaker’s until they sometimes number as many as a dozen. Some little time back a very bulky coffin was opened, and found to contain a large quantity of small corpses packed carefully round a large corpse.
Is “stills” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.