One excellent example of the sort of thing you're talking about is the writings of Georgette Heyer. Many of the "Regency" slang and idioms she loved so much were really just her own inventions, but for generations of romance readers and writers, that is how people talked in the Regency. She made that time period come alive by means of her colorful language, and is probably single-handedly responsible for the entire Regency romance genre. For those who loved (and still love) her, what matters is the experience they have in reading her books, not whether or not any one ever actually said "make a cake of yourself."
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