A convict who has become adept in the law and helps other inmates compose petitions and pleas. A heavy, handmade prison knife. To impress a sailor into service on a long sea voyage. The term originated in the age before direct connections between the West Coast and China. In those days, Shanghai was reached by way of the Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, a voyage which sailors dreaded.
Shanghai smoke noun.
In addition to the tobacco, it was laced with generous quantities of opium. A professional card-player, particularly one who cut his losses by wiley play and cheating. A sharpened piece of metal, used as a knife. Derogatory term for a child molester, the most hated of all prisoners. An illegal bar where moonshine is sold.