Wednesday, October 27, 2010 billy noodle – 1. “a soft fellow that believes the girls are all in love with him”; 2. a ladykiller; 3. a conceited ass. Sources Farmer, John S. and W. E. Henley. A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English. Abridged from Slang and Its Analogues. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1912. Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: [...]
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Wednesday, September 15, 2010 billy – “A piece of whalebone or rawhide about fourteen inches long, with an oval-shaped lump of lead at each end, one larger than the other, the whole being covered with backskin or india-rubber.” Sources Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. New York: George W. Matsell, 1859. Note: See “Cant: The Language of [...]
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 bilboa – a pointed instrument. From Bilbao, a city in Spain known for making excellent swords and blades. Image via Wikipedia Sources Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. New York: George W. Matsell, 1859. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. Note: See “Cant: The Language of the [...]
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Image by mhall209 via Flickr bet on time – being allowed to pay a gambling debt at a later time, after one has lost all of his or her money. betting his eyes – a “sucker” who watches a game of chance but does not bet. Sources Farmer, John S. and W. E. Henley. A [...]
bess or bets(e)y or betty – a simple picklock; a crooked nail used to open locks. Sources Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. New York: George W. Matsell, 1859. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. Note: See “Cant: The Language of the Underworld” to learn more about [...]
beat – 1. to get the best of him; 2. to rob or swindle; 3. the part of a town in which a criminal or gang works; 4. to escape from prison; 5. to cheat or defraud (as in beat the hotel out of its bill). beat out of – to extort money from (a [...]
bazaar – a shop counter (as in the bazaar-like display of goods). Sources Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. New York: George W. Matsell, 1859. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. Note: See “Cant: The Language of the Underworld” to learn more about the background of the [...]
Also filed in | Tagged Theft | Image by Quimbaya via Flickr bat – 1. a prostitute who only goes out on the street at night (in the way that bats appear at dusk); a low prostitute; 2. to be, or to work as, a prostitute. Sources Barrère, Albert and Charles G. Leland. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. [London]: The [...]
Image via Wikipedia barnacles – 1. a good booty (as in “things worth sticking to”); 2. a pair of spectacles (a possible corruption of binoculi); 3. handcuffs. Sources London Antiquary, A [Hotten, John Camden]. A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words. 2nd ed. London: John Camden Hotten, 1860. Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, [...]
Image by Steffe via Flickr baptized – a description for liquor that has been watered down. Sources Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. New York: George W. Matsell, 1859. Note: See “Cant: The Language of the Underworld” to learn more about the background of the American Malefactor’s Dictionary.
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