"Our little girl Susan is a most admirable slut, and pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better."

This is a quote from Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), a famous diarist. He kept a diary for ten years straight, spanning major events like the Plague. It's considered a major historical reference work on a critical period, the Restoration.

Susan was a maid in his household; he had no children. "Slut" here is used in the now obsolete meaning "drudge," or "servant girl." The quote is from the last sentence in the entry for February 21st, 1663.


Apologies for the title. It was a nodeshell, and confused me for a while, so when I came across the explanation, I decided to clarify.

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