When searching The Proceedings of the Old Bailey during the 18th Century, one must be cognizant of:

Information about homosexuality contained in the text of trials for unrelated crimes can be identified by using the Keyword Search page. Entering one or more of the terms listed below, all of which are associated with homosexuality in this period, will generate relevant trials.

Molly - an eighteenth-century slang expression for homosexual men taken from the Latin mollis meaning "soft".

Molly house - refers specifically to the wide network of alehouses where homosexual men met. Remember to use the "Near" operator when searching on phrases.

Bugger - the act of anal penetration, regardless of the sex of the passive participant.

Sodomy, sodomize, sodomite - the act of, or a participant in, any form of penetrative sexual activity with the exclusion of heterosexual, vaginal sex between an adult man and woman over 12 years of age. In the eighteenth century sodomy included bestiality, child abuse, and oral sex.

Detestable - frequently paired with "crime" or "sin", a common eighteenth-century code word for sodomy. Over the course of the period covered by the Proceedings trials for sodomy become decreasingly explicit, with a wide range of euphemisms used.

Unnatural - frequently paired with "act" or "sin", a common eighteenth-century code word for sodomy.

Extort - extortion with threats to expose men for homosexual practices was common in eighteenth-century London. A search using this term will find many relevant cases.

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