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Category Archives: Dictionary

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: ambush

Monday, December 7, 2009

ambush – fraudulent weights and measures used by grocers, coal-dealers, etc. The term is a pun on the formal definition of the word: to lie in wait (lying weight). Sources: Barrère, Albert and Charles G. Leland. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. [London]: The Ballantyne Press, 1889. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: air and exercise

Monday, November 30, 2009

air and exercise – 1. a short term of imprisonment, hence “two stretches of air and exercise” means two years in prison; 2. working in the stone quarry at Blackwell’s Island or at Sing Sing. In England, air and exercise originally referred to someone being whipped at the cart’s tail or, as it was more […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: ackruffs

Monday, November 23, 2009

ackruffs – River thieves; river-pirates (obsolete by 1900). The word is an American variant of Ark Ruffians, who rob and murder on fresh water. One of their schemes is to pick an argument with a passenger on board the vessel and use the occasion to strip the passenger, throw him or her overboard, and then […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: Adam

Monday, November 16, 2009

Adam – a henchman, an accomplice. The word is also used in combination, as in Adam tiler (or tyler), a pickpocket’s accomplice. This latter term refers to the person to whom the pickpocket quickly passes off his or her gains for safekeeping and to avoid suspicion. Sources: Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, the Rogue’s Lexicon.. […]

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Cant: The Language of the Criminal Underworld

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cant, or flash as it is sometimes called, is a specialized language used by criminals to keep communication about their intentions and actions from being understood by their victims or the authorities. Because any language requires a distinct group of users who can speak and understand it, cant indicates the presence of at least a […]

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