New-York tribune., 1908-08-30
SLANG LANGUAGE
PROTECTS THIEVES
,L4RGON SEEMINGLY
MEANINGLESS.
II Enables Them to Plan Crimes IN
Public Houses WHhOut Fear
of Detection.

| NV lord staged him in a moment My
| lord who in this case was tho late Baron orar'p
ton looked puzzled. although he was probably BET
ter acquainted with street slang than most judges
| of his day Noticing the perplexity OF the baron
| the witness continued by way OF explanation
.-r mean 7 was up to him and so was down on
| him" Still Mr. Justice Hawkins shook his head IN
de.par Thereupon the witness. with an air OF
araltv which seemed to suggest that any child
couId understand the simplicity OF his language
continued:
We'll my lord when say was up to him and
down on him. l mean in plain English that saw
he was a rum kiddy. so gave him one on the
tihb,. and held him till the rozzer came up.
Baron Brampton confessed himself beaten. but
with the assistance of the clerk or the court WIS
ultimately able to gather that the witness VINO was
bearing testimony against an assailant VINO had at
teuptod TO rob him. at once guessed MS purpose.
r taking the initiative became the aGgressor IN
stead of the aggressed. knocked the would-he rob-
bcr down with a smash on the nose. and held him
until policeman came up.
This anecdote furnishes amusing Illustration
or the peculiar expressions used by the lower
classes At the same time the terms which puzzled
Baron Rrampton commonly heard IN HoXton
and Mile End. and form no conundruIn 10 prooaoIy
tho ma oritv of the residents in those localities. In
,ho underworld OF these districts. however. Ian
gnage is used which is probably more mystifyins
IN tho laynlan than Iiindustani- AS a matter OF
fact il has been specially invented to puzzle the
unnitiated for II has very practicsi purpose 10
serve.
The underworld in this case means crooks" and
tbeir associates-men who habitually defy the law.
refuse 10 do an honest days work. preferring in
stead to get what they can by crimina! dodges'
ranging from picking pockets and commence tricKs
TO big burgIarles. or necessity these men are
Obliged to use a language which the average per-
sor cannot understand. And for this reason Their
principal meeting place is the public house. wnefe
they discuss their Jobs and business Here there
e aIvivs n chance OF them being accidentally over
heard Or perhaps two or three crooks meet IN
the street. on tram car or bus' when some
hurried explanation of plans is necessary How
ever softly they may talk. there Is always dan
ger of other catching that which for satety
must be kept secret and II is In order to guard
against this danger much as possible that terms
and cxnressions have been invented which have no
meaning except to the boys in the profession
The following example of criminal slang. which
Will probably be both mystfying and amusing TO
many readers shows how impossible 1t Is for
stranger to follow the cohVersauoiI' ho ina''0i
what he may suspect
Three we'll dressed crooks, known TO their associ-
ates as Nib. Nat and Wiz. respectively. met In a
public house I'm the north OF London on the day
some two Or three months ago. that the Prince OF
Wales opened the Lambeth Town Hall They had
no srecial lob on hand and their conversation ran
these lines:
Where's the best gafr?' asked Nib.
well I've screwed the lnendraper, answered
wiz land think the right chat will be down Lam
hetb You know what's there. don't you?
think we ought to get n good weeks work in an
hour Shall we have dabble down there? what
de- YOU say. Nib?
Well" replied the latter. we find the right stun
there but YOU know what 1t is when royalty are on
the manor 1t WIN be fire It's red kettle to
halr-u-tosh bomper that there will be d and a
grass every few yards of the frog. And Nat is
under the Act
oh don't worry about me-, the latter answered,
81 must have some bees and honey to-day. or else
shall have to mosl my groin. We had better have
a dabble there. I've grown this machnest whilst 1
was away and altered my boatrace
..All right said Nib, lets hop II in the rattler
and get down To this gan"
Lets tub II down. suggested Nat.
No; that's just where you get q TALL Joined In
Wiz III tub IL. and you two go by the rattler.
don't like the look of that finger the frog.
He's been lampins since we came III. When we
get outside, break away and joint down there"
With the knowledge that II Ia criminals who ars
talking readers doubtless decipher soue Of the
terms but with this assistance the dialogue
would probably require some hours study to make
Ineligible. Here. however, are the meanings OF
slang terms used in the foregoing bit Of conver
satiou: GALL" tho most llkaly pisoa XhDsA thagA