Regency Rug Rats

I'm trying not to be so critical of anachronisms — or at least, not so vocal — but 'rug rats' in a Regency romance is trying tolerance too far.

Did Jane Austen say 'rug rats'? Did Georgette Heyer?

They did not.

According to the Dictionary of American Slang, no one said 'rug rats' before the 1960′s. How does an author justify plopping 1960′s American slang into a novel set in early 1800′s England? How did her editor let it pass?

I surely can't be the only person who notices this sort of thing.

Revi...