"Pimp to the King"
The first known recorded use of the word “pimp” as a metaphor for scandalous behavior not associated with procuring men off the street to pay for sexual congress with a prostitute occurred in the entry for December 15, 1662 when Pepys writes “met with Dr. Clerke, who in discourse tells me, that Sir Charles Barkeley's greatness is only his being pimp to the King.” Barkeley was not held in particularly high regard by his critics, but exactly what the metaphorical reference to prostitution in the name of the King is exactly supposed to mean has never been made explicitly clear. Far more important than the piddling events of history is the contribution of Pepys to the legacy of the word itself.
Mr. Martin
In his entry for October 21, 1664, Pepys engages two similes almost back to back to reference a certain Mr. Martin for whom he has quite a low opinion and dreads having to meet.
“Mr. Martin, to trouble me again to get him a Lieutenant's place for which he is as fit as a foole can be. But I put him off like an arse, as he is”
This use of figurative language for the point of comparison is a perfect example of the typical use of metaphorical language in the diary as Pepys has a wicked sense of humor that derives from painting a portrait of those he holds in low esteem through such comparisons.
Women
May 24, 1663 references the exit of a woman with a simile that seems particularly cruel: “and so she is gone like an idle slut.” In reality, “slut” is one of the more common recurring terms which Pepys uses to refer to women. He refers to his wife’s maid Nell as a “simple slut.” Another women is called not only “an ugly wench” be the “most ill-favoured slut” he ever met in his life. Some might argue that this term is literal and not metaphorical, but if so, then the diarist should at least partially be judged by the company he kept. Surely, all those women could not be literally referenced with what truly was one of the author’s favorite terms for women.
The Great Fire
One of the most famous highlights of the diary is Pepys’ first-hand account of the Great London Fire which destroyed much of the city in 1666. The entry for September 2 of that year—the day the fire began sweeping across the crowded metropolis—is one of the longest in the diary and the description of what Pepys saw is highlighted by one of his simplest yet most effective metaphors in describing the conflagration as “a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire.”
The King a Slave
Much of the diary is directed to the court intrigue that can see the fortunes of a person rise or fall upon the whim of the monarch and who gains his favor from day to day. November 27, 1666 is a particularly insightful glimpse in the diary as to just much access Pepys had to those intrigues. The entry also illuminates that it is beyond question Pepys never intended to see his diary published in his lifetime, at least not without the benefit of judicious editing. Otherwise the metaphorical comparison made on this particular day could have put a swift end to any future entries:
“home to dinner, where Mr. Pierce comes to me, and there, in general, tells me how the King is now fallen in and become a slave to the Duke of Buckingham”
