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Category Archives: Dictionary

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: beat and its variants

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

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 […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: bazaar

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

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 […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: bat

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

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 […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: barnacles

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

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, […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: baptized

Thursday, May 20, 2010

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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