| |
Cant |
English |
 |
Abbess |
The mistress of a brothel |
| Abram |
Naked |
| Abram cove |
A word used among thieves which signifies a naked
or poor man. It can also mean a lusty strong rogue |
| Abram men |
A beggar who pretends to be mad |
| To sham abram |
To pretend to be sick |
| Academy |
Brothel |
| Ace of Spades |
A Widow |
| Acorn |
"To ride a horse foaled by an acorn"
is to be hanged on the gallows |
| Adam Tiler |
A pickpockets associate, who receives the stolen
goods, and runs off with them |
| Affidavit men |
A witness for hire Someone who will swear to anything
in court if paid to do so |
| Air and exercise |
"He has had air and exercise" (ie he
has been whipped at the carts tail) |
| Ambidexter |
A lawyer who garners fees from both plaintiff
and defender |
| To Amuse |
To fling dust into the eyes of the person intended
to be robbed; also to invent some plausible tale to delude
a shopkeeper in order to put them off their guard |
| Amuser |
A rogue who uses the above tactic |
| Anabaptist |
A pickpocket caught in the act, and punished by
being thrown into a pond |
| Anglers |
Pilferers or petty thieves who with a stick having
a hook at the end, steal goods out of shop windows, grates
etc. Also someone who 'draws in' victims in order to rob
them |
| Angling for coppers |
Begging out of a prison window with a cap or box
let down on the end of a long string |
| Arch Rogue |
The chief of a gang of thieves or gipsies |
| Ard |
Hot, stolen |
| Ark |
A boat |
| Ark ruffians |
Rogues who in conjunction with watermen, robbed
and sometimes murdered on the water by picking a quarrel
with passengers in a boat, boarding it, plundering, stripping,
and throwing them overboard |
| Artichoke |
Hang (see hearty choke) |
| Aunt |
A prostitute or someone who procures prostitutes |
| Avoir Du Pois Lay |
Stealing brass weights off the counters of shops |
| Autem Bawler |
A priest |
| Autem Divers |
Pickpockets who operate in churches and temples |
| Autem Mort |
A female beggar who hires children in order to
inspire charity |
 |
Babes in the wood |
Criminals in the stocks or pillory |
| Badge |
A term for one who has had his hand
burned as punishment for theft |
| Bagged Flash |
Magic Item |
| Bandog |
A bailiff or sheriff |
| Barrow man |
A man under sentence of transport |
| Bat |
A very common prostitute |
| Bawd |
A justice of the peace or magistrate
|
| Bawdy basket |
A Criminal who sells items from
door to door, but makes most of their living by stealing |
| Beef |
to "cry beef" is to give an alarm.
To "be in a mans beef" is to wound him with a sword |
| Begger maker |
A man who owns a tavern |
| Beilby's Ball |
To "dance with Beilby's ball" is
to be hung |
| Bene |
Good |
| Bene Bowse |
Good beer |
| Bene Cove |
Good fellow |
| Bene Darkmans |
Good night |
| Bene feaker |
Counterfeiter |
| Bene feaker of gybes |
Counterfeiter of false passes |
| Ben |
A fool |
| Bess or Betty |
A crow bar |
| Bilboes |
The stocks or prison |
| Bilk |
To cheat or con |
| Bing |
To go or escape |
| Bingo |
Brandy or other spirit |
| Bingo boy |
A drinker of brandy |
| Bingo mort |
A female drinker of brandy |
| Birds of a feather |
Rogues of the same gang |
| Bite |
To steal |
| Black art |
The art of picking a lock |
| Black box |
A lawyer |
| Blasted fellow |
An abandoned rogue or prostitute |
| Blater |
A stolen calf |
| Bleaters |
Those cheated by a Jack in the Box
(See Jack in the box) |
| Bleating rig |
Sheep stealing |
| Blow |
To "bite the blow" is to steal the
goods |
| Blue pigeons |
Thieves who steal lead off houses
and other buildings |
| Bluffer |
An inn keeper |
| Blunt |
Money |
| Boarding school |
Prison |
| Bob |
Shoplifter's assistant, One who
receives stolen goods |
| Boned |
Seized, arrested |
| B oredom |
Risk |
| Borrow |
To steal |
| Boung |
A purse |
| Boung nipper |
A cut purse |
| Box-man |
Thief specialized in cracking safes |
| Brimstone |
An abandoned woman or thief |
| Broken Finger |
A serious injury |
| Bubber |
A thief who steals less value |
| Bung nipper |
A pickpocket |
| Burning the ken |
To flee a tavern without paying
your bill |
| Bus napper |
A constable |
| Bus napper kenchin |
A watchman |
| Buttock and file |
A prostitute who steals from their
clients |
| Button |
A fake coin |
| Buzman |
A pickpocket |
 |
Cackle |
To inform on a thief |
| Calle |
A cloak or gown worn as a disguise |
| Canters |
Thieves or beggers |
| Canting Crew |
Thieves or beggers |
| Cap |
Take an oath |
| Captain Sharp |
A person in a fixed game of chance whose job is
to bully those who refuse to pay their debts |
| Caravan |
A large sum of money, or one who is cheated of
a large sum of money |
| Cattle |
Prostitutes or gipsies |
| Charactered |
To have your hand burnt as a punishment for theft |
| Charm |
A lockpick |
| Chatts |
The gallows |
| Clank |
A silver tankard |
| Clank napper |
A silver tankard stealer |
| Clear |
Very drunk |
| Click |
To hit |
| Clicker |
The person who divides the booty between a group
of thieves |
| Climb up a ladder to bed |
To be hanged |
| Cloy |
Steal |
| Cloyes |
Thieves |
| Cly |
A pickpocket |
| Cly the jerk |
To be whipped |
| Cockles, to cry |
To be hanged |
| Colt |
One who lends a horse to a highway man, or an
apprentice thief |
| Confect |
Counterfeited |
| Cannon |
Pickpocket |
| Content |
A person murdered for resisting a robbery |
| Contraband |
Illegal goods |
| Cove |
A man |
| Cracksman |
A house breaker |
| Cramp word |
The sentence of death |
| Crash |
Kill |
| Crawl in a hole |
Hide |
| Crib |
House |
| Crop |
Hang |
| Cull |
An honest man |
| Cullability |
Easily cheated |
| Curbing law |
The act off hooking items out of a window (see
angling) |
| Cursitor |
A bad lawyer |
 |
Dangle |
To hang |
| Danglestuff |
Rope |
| Darbies |
Chains (handcuffs) |
| Darby |
Easy money |
| Darkee |
A dark or hooded lantern |
| Darkmans |
Night time |
| Dawb |
Bribe |
| Deadly nevergreen |
The gallows |
| Derrick |
A hangman |
| Dimber Damber |
A chief thief |
| Ding boy |
A mugger |
| Dive |
To pick a pocket |
| Dive |
A thieves hideout |
| Dodgies |
Innocent |
| Dommerer |
A beggar who pretends to be mute |
| Drag |
To follow a cart or wagon in order to rob it |
| Draw-latches |
Robbers of houses |
| Drawing the King's picture |
Counterfeiting coins |
| Dromedary |
A bungling thief |
| Dropping a glove |
Losing a hand (legal punishment) |
| Dress up |
Tie up |
| Dub |
A lockpick |
| Dub Lay |
To rob a house by picking its lock |
| Dummee |
A pocket book or purse |
| Dumps |
Coins made of lead |
| Die Hard |
Show no fear or remorse at the gallows |
 |
Earnest |
A promise to pay |
| Equipt |
Well dressed, rich |
| Expense Money |
Bribe |
 |
Fagger |
A small boy who passed through a
window in order to unlock the door to the house |
| Family man |
A receiver of stolen goods |
| Fam lay |
Palming an item in order to steal
it |
| Fams |
Gloves |
| Fang |
Dog |
| Fen |
A prostitute |
| Fence |
To sell stolen goods, One who buys
stolen goods |
| Fencing ken |
A place where stolen goods are hidden |
| Fidlam ben |
Thieves |
| Figging law |
The art of picking pockets |
| Figure dancer |
One who alters the numbers on notes
of credit, or other paper money |
| Filcher |
see Angler |
| Flag waving |
Planning |
| Flash |
Magic |
| Flash ken |
A thieves hideout |
| Flash lingo |
Thieves cant |
| Floating hell |
A prison ship |
| Flog |
To whip |
| Fob |
Cheat |
| Footpad |
A common thief |
| Fork |
To pick a pocket |
| Fortune teller |
A judge |
| Foyst |
A pickpocket |
| Frummagemmed |
Strangled or hanged |
| Fun |
A cheat or trick |
| Fuzz |
To pretend to shuffle a deck of
cards |
 |
Gallows bird |
A thief or pickpocket or someone
that associates with them |
| Game |
Any mode of robbery |
| Gamon |
To deceive |
| Gaoler's coach |
A cart used to take felons to execution |
| Gentleman |
Thief |
| Gentleman's master |
A highwayman |
| Getting stripes |
To be flogged |
| Gibberish |
Thieves cant |
| Gilt |
A thief who picks locks |
| Ginny |
A crowbar |
| Glazier |
A thief who breaks windows in order
to steal |
| Glim |
A lantern used in housebreaking |
| Goin' home |
Jail break |
| Goin' legit |
To die |
| Grandpa |
Judge |
| Grease |
Bribe |
| Gregorian tree |
The gallows |
| Gudgeon |
A gullible person |
| Guesthouse |
Jail |
| Gull |
A gullible person, to cheat someone |
 |
Hamlet |
A senior constable |
| Hang gallows look |
A villainous appearance |
| Hang in chains |
A vile, desperate person |
| Harmans |
The stocks |
| Have a chat with |
Kill |
| Hearty choke |
To be hanged |
| Heave |
To rob |
| Hempen fever |
A person who has been hanged is
said to have died of "hempen fever" |
| Hempen widow |
One whose husband was hanged |
| High pad |
A highwayman |
| Hike |
To run away |
| Hired help |
Accomplice |
| Hitman |
Assassin |
| Hizzooner's guest |
Prisoner |
| Hoist |
To rob by entering through a window
that had been left opened. |
| Hole in need of plugging |
Informant |
| Hoodwink |
Blindfold or fool someone |
| Hooked |
Captured |
| Hookers |
See angler |
| Hubbub |
A riot |
| Hue |
To whip |
| Hush |
Murder |
| Hush money |
A bribe |
 |
Invited |
Arrested |
| Iron |
Money |
| Ironmongers shop |
To "keep an ironmongers shop" is to
be hung in chains |
 |
Jack in a box |
A card sharper |
| Jack Ketch |
Hangman |
| Jail bird |
prisoner |
| Jammed |
Hanged |
| Jem |
A gold ring |
| Jemmy |
A crowbar |
| Jiggers |
Whipping post |
| Jordain |
A stick or staff used by muggers |
| Juggler's box |
The device used to burn the hands
of criminals |
| Jukrum |
The permission of the head of a
thieves guild to operate within his territory |
 |
Kate |
A lockpick |
| Ken |
A house |
| Ken Miller or Ken Cracker |
Housebreaker |
| Ketch |
Hangman |
| Kiddeys |
Young thieves |
| King's plate |
Chain's, shackles |
| King's pictures |
Money |
| Knight of the blade |
A bully |
| Knight of the post |
A man willing to give fake evidence
for money |
| Knight of the road |
A highwayman |
| Knock-knock |
Hello |
 |
Laced mutton |
A prostitute |
| Lag |
A man transported for a crime |
| Land pirate |
A highwayman |
| Lay |
Danger |
| Leaf |
To "go with the fall of the leaf" is to be hanged
|
| Lid |
Door |
| Lift |
Steal |
| Lightmans |
Daytime |
| Little snakesman |
A small boy passed through a window in order to
open a door |
| Lone Wolf |
Thief, independent |
| Long tongued |
Unable to keep a secret |
| Lowre |
Money |
| Lully priggers |
Thieves who steal wet clothes off clothes lines
|
| Lurch |
To be "left in the lurch" is to be betrayed by
ones companions |
 |
Mad Tom |
A begger who feigns madness |
| Made |
Stolen |
| Made man |
A member of the thieves guild, high-standing |
| Mark |
The target of a confidence game |
| Maunding |
Begging |
| Milch cow |
One who is easily tricked out of his money |
| Moabites |
Bailiffs |
| Mob |
Group of thieves |
| Mobility |
The commoners, intended as a pun on 'nobility' |
| Moon curser |
A thief who uses the darkness as cover for his
crime |
| Moon men |
gypsies |
| Moon pigs |
Night watchmen |
| Morning Drop |
The gallows |
| Mort |
A woman |
| Moss |
Lead stolen off the top of buildings |
| Mot |
A woman |
| Myrmidons |
Constables |
 |
Nab |
To seize |
| Nab the stoop |
To be put in the stocks |
| Napper |
A cheat or thief |
| Napper of naps |
A sheep stealer |
| Natty lads |
Young thieves or pickpockets |
| Neck weed |
hemp to be made into rope |
| Needle point |
A card sharper |
| New drop |
The gallows |
| Newman's lift |
The gallows |
| Nig |
The metal clipped off a coin by
a criminal |
| Night magistrate |
A constable |
| Nim |
To steal or pilfer |
| Nip |
A cheat |
| Noisy dog racket |
The crime of stealing brass door
knockers from doors |
| Noozed |
Hanged (or married) |
| Nose |
A criminal who gives evidence against
his colleagues in order to gain a lighter sentence |
| Nubbing |
Hanging |
| Nubbing cheat |
The gallows |
| Nubbing cove |
The Hangman |
| Nubbing ken |
The courthouse |
| Nypper |
A cutpurse |
 |
Oak |
A rich man |
| Oaken towel |
A cudgel |
| Office |
To "give office" is to tell constables
of a thieves activities |
| Old hand |
A experienced thief |
| Onion |
A seal or signet ring |
| Overseer |
A man in the pillory or stocks |
 |
Pad |
The highway |
| Pad borrowers |
horse thieves |
| Pair of eyes |
A lookout |
| Palaver |
A tale told in order to avoid blame for a crime |
| Panny |
House |
| Papa Porker |
Guard, head of the |
| Parenthesis |
The stocks |
| Parings |
The metal clipped off a coin by a criminal |
| Patter flash |
To use thieves cant |
| Paum |
Conceal in the hand |
| Peach |
Turn informer |
| Peeper |
A spying glass (telescope?) |
| Penance board |
Pillory |
| Pennyweighter |
Thief who replaces valuable goods with worthless
ones |
| Petty fogger |
A lawyer willing to undertake any cause |
| Piece man |
Trader of knowledge on where stolen property can
be sold |
| Pig |
An officer of the law |
| Pigeon |
A person easy to cheat |
| Pigeon plucker |
Con-artist/swindler |
| Pig poker |
Dagger |
| Plate |
Money, silver, gold etc...
|
| Poney |
Money |
| Pop |
Pawn |
| Pop shop |
Pawnbroker |
| Porridge |
Prison |
| Posse mobilitatis |
A mob chasing a criminal |
| Poulterer |
A man who opens mail and steals the money enclosed
within |
| Pound |
Prison |
| Prad |
Horse |
| Prad lay |
The act of cutting the saddlebags of horses in
order to steal their contents |
| Prig |
A thief |
| Prig napper |
One who catches a thief, A bounty hunter |
| Priggers |
Thieves |
| Priggers of prancers |
Horse thieves |
| Priggers of cacklers |
Robbers of henhouses |
| Prince Prig |
Head of a group of thieves or gypsies |
| Provendor |
The victim of a thief |
| Public Ledger |
A prostitute |
| Pull |
Arrest |
| Purse collector |
Pickpocket |
| Puzzle-cause |
A lawyer who does not understand the case |
 |
Quarromes |
A body |
| Queer |
"To queer" means to confuse
someone |
| Queer bail |
Someone who pretends to have money
in order to act as surety for an arrested person. When the person
is released they disappear |
| Queer birds |
A person who when released from
prison returns to a life of crime |
| Queer bit makers |
Counterfeiters of coins |
| Queer bung |
An empty purse |
| Queer cove |
A thief |
| Queer cuffin |
A justice of the peace |
| Queer ken |
A prison |
| Queer mort |
A diseased prostitute |
| Quod |
Prison |
| Quota |
A thieves share of the booty |
 |
Racket |
Larceny
|
| Rag |
Paper money |
| Rank rider |
A highwayman |
| Rap |
Taking a false oath |
| Rascal |
Rogue or villain |
| Rat |
An informer, To turn informer |
| Rattling cove |
A coachman |
| Rattling mumpers |
Beggers who beg from coaches |
| Reader |
A pocket book or purse |
| Reader merchants |
Pickpockets |
| Ready |
Money |
| Recruiting service |
Highway robbery |
| Repository |
A goal |
| Resurrection men |
Those employed by scientists to
steal bodies from churchyards |
| Rhino |
Money |
| Ribbin |
Money |
| Ridding the rope |
To hang |
| Ringing the charges |
Exchanging silver coins for those
made of less valuable metal |
| Roast |
Arrest |
| Robert's men |
Successful thieves |
| Rooton |
Committing crimes |
| Rot gut |
Cheap spiritous liquor |
| Rounder |
Burglar, professional |
| Rovers |
Pirates, wandering thieves |
| Rub |
Run away |
| Ruffles |
Chains or shackles |
| Rufflers |
Beggers who pretend to be wounded
soldiers or sailors |
| Rug |
Safe and secure |
| Rum |
Fine, good, valuable |
| Rum beck |
A justice of the peace |
| Rum bite |
A clever trick |
| Rum bob |
A skilled apprentice thief |
| Rum bung |
A false purse |
| Rum cod |
A purse filled with gold |
| Rum diver |
A skilled pickpocket |
| Rum dubber |
A skilled lock picker |
| Rum file |
A skilled pickpocket |
| Rum fun |
A clever trick |
| Rum pad |
The highway |
| Rum padders |
Skilled and successful highwaymen
|
| Rum prancer |
A good horse |
| Rushers |
Home invaders |
 |
Salmon |
An oath taken by a beggar |
| Scapegallows |
One who deserves and has escaped
the gallows |
| Score |
Loot from a theft |
| Scragged |
Hanged |
| Scragg'em fair |
A public execution |
| Scratch |
Injury |
| Screw |
A lock pick or skeleton key |
| Shadow dance |
Hide |
| Sham |
A trick |
| Sharper |
A con man |
| Sheriff's journeyman |
Hangman |
| Sheriff's ball |
An execution |
| Sheriff's hotel |
Prison |
| Sheriff's picture frame |
Gallows |
| Shop |
Prison |
| Shoplifter |
One who steals froma shop |
| Shoulder tap |
Backstab |
| Show |
Trial |
| Signals |
Plan (noun) |
| Sing |
Call out, inform |
| Slang |
Chains or shackles |
| Slang |
Thieves cant |
| Slipgibbet |
see Scapegollows |
| Smooth |
Quiet |
| Snap the glaze |
Break a window |
| Snapt |
Captured |
| Sneak |
A pilferer |
| Snoozing ken |
Brothel |
| Sop |
A bribe |
| Spring-ankle warehouse |
Prison |
| Squeak |
Escape, "To squeak" means
to confess |
| Squeakers |
Organ pipes |
| Stalling ken |
Place where stolen goods can be
sold |
| Star the glaze |
Break a jewellers window |
| Stoop |
The pillory |
| Stop hole abbey |
The central hideout or guild hall
for a thieves guild |
| Stretching |
Hanging |
| Stuling ken |
Place where stolen goods can be
sold |
| Swaddler |
A thief who beats and murders his
victims |
| Swag |
Booty |
| Sweating |
Removing metal from a coin, by using
chemicals |
| Swing |
Hang |
| Switch |
Sell |
 |
Tail |
A prostitute |
| Tayle drawers |
A thief who steals swords from a mans belt |
| Tea with the pigs |
To have "tea with the pigs" means to
be tortured |
| Teize |
A flogging |
| Thatch-gallows |
A man of poor character |
| Thief takers |
Someone who associates with thieves in order to
arrest them and obtain rewards |
| Three-legged mare |
The gallows |
| Three-legged stool |
The gallows |
| Tilted Floor |
Wall |
| Tinker |
Healer, underworld |
| Tom of Bedlam |
see Mad Tom |
| Topping cheat |
The gallows |
| Topping cove |
Hangman |
| Touch |
Arrest |
| Trounce |
Punish |
| Tuck in bed |
Knock unconscious |
| Tucked up |
Hanged |
| Turncoat |
One who has betrayed his friends |
| Turn off |
Hang |
| Twig |
Realize that something is up |
| Two to one shop |
Pawnbrokers |
 |
Uncle |
Fence |
| Underdubber |
A prison guard |
| Upright Man |
Chief thief of a guild |
| Used up |
Killed |
 |
Vamp |
Pawn |
| Varlets |
Criminals |
| Vincent's law |
The art of cheating at cards |
| Visiting the neighbors |
Burglary |
| Vowel |
To write an IOU |
 |
Waterpad |
River pirate |
| Wedge |
Silver plate |
| Whack |
A share of booty obtained by fraud |
| Whip jacks |
Thieves who pretend to be sailors in order to
gain free passage on boats and ships |
| Wiper |
Handkerchief |
| Wiper drawer |
A pickpocket who steals handkerchiefs |
| Wooden ruff |
Pillory |
| Wry neck day |
Day of execution |
 |
Yelp |
Cry out for the |
 |
Zad |
A very crooked person |
