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Category Archives: Dictionary

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: Now on Twitter (and Other Special Announcements)

Get a Daily Dose of Early American Crime! The American Malefactor’s Dictionary is now on Twitter at the username @EarlyAmerCrime. Entries for the dictionary will appear daily, Monday through Friday, and you can see all of them by clicking the #CrimeDict hashtag or typing it in the Twitter search box. Daily Twitter entries at @EarlyAmerCrime […]

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: break, give someone a

break, give someone a – to liberate someone from prison. Sources 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 American Malefactor’s Dictionary.

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: bread-bag

bread-bag – stomach. Have a great Thanksgiving! 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.

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: bracelets

bracelets – handcuffs. Sources Barrère, Albert and Charles G. Leland. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. [London]: The Ballantyne Press, 1889. 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. London Antiquary, A [Hotten, John Camden]. A […]

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: bowsprit

bowsprit – a nose. bowsprit in parentheses – a pulled nose. From the nose being the front-most part of the face, as the bowsprit is of a ship. Sources Barrère, Albert and Charles G. Leland. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. [London]: The Ballantyne Press, 1889. Grose, Francis and Egan Pierce. Grose’s Classical Dictionary […]