Thieves' Cant

**Thieves' cant** is a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows messages to be hidden in seemingly normal conversation. It is used by thieves, beggars, hustlers, and assorted criminals of various kinds to keep the subjects of their generally illegal conversations hidden from anyone listening that is unfamiliar with the slang. Many variants of thieves' cant exist in Ygdren, varying between nations and even between cities in those nations.

## Variants

### Rotwelsch

Rotwelsch (*Aldspiel*: "Beggar's Foreign") is a form of thieves' cant spoken amongst the widespread criminal underground of Liechtfels, and by extension many other cities in Aldwyr where the dialect has spread alongside growing criminal activity. In all places, the slang is kept as obfuscated and secret as possible, and anyone caught leaking any meanings to the constables (or anyone not a recognised part of the criminal underworld) typically faces quick and violent retribution.

Rotwelsch consists mainly of a complex lexicon of slang words designed to be easy to slip into normal conversation, or failing that make the subject of such a conversation deeply difficult to understand by anyone eavesdropping that isn't familiar with the jargon.

Words in this lexicon include:

* *alleypiece* – a hidden weapon, generally silent, such as a knife or hand crossbow
* *bagman* – a hired killer or assassin
* *barker –* a rifle
* *billhouse* – jail or prison, to be "in the billhouse"
* *bucket wine* – blood, typically in the context of leaving a mess at a crime scene
* *cat bridge* – a route across rooftops
* *clinker –* someone who deals in spirit bottles, referring to the clink of said bottles
* *clutcher* – a young street urchin with criminal tendencies
* *cobblefaced –* incredibly drunk, to the point of unconsciousness
* *cold salt* – black powder
* *comfy* – fat
* *cut and sixes* – a gang war
* *dayfly* – an inexperienced or mediocre thief
* *distance* – exemption from the gallows peace, to be "given the distance"
* *doubling* – a human, referring to their size compared to dwarves
* *duns* – dire, or really bad, generally in reference to a situation
* *eel pot* – a toilet or chamber pot
* *gallows peace* – unspoken but strict rules of conduct amongst criminals of the underworld
* *ginny* – a crowbar or similar tool
* *iron* – a pistol or gun
* *keg* – a dwarf, referring to their stature
* *kell* – the leader of a criminal gang
* *kettle* – a constable, named after the kettle helmets that constables wear, also *conner* or *tincoat*
* *lights up –* an order to start paying attention because something is about to happen
* *molly* – a prostitute
* *moonlighter* – a member of the Inspectors
* *mudlark –* a street urchin
* *proper copper –* very interested
* *ragfoot* – a satyr, referring to how they bind their hooves in rags to make less noise on cobblestone
* *red –* handy with a knife
* *right people* – collective term for members or associates of the criminal underworld
* *ripe* – wealthy, rich, or otherwise profitable
* *rook* – a professional and experienced thief
* *rudstack tan –* any kind of burn scarring
* *slink* – a kobold, referring to their tendencies to hide anywhere they can
* *smoke hole* – a hiding place to lay low and let things blow over
* *soft talk* – roughing someone up without intent to kill
* *sticky –* canny, shrewd, hard to deceive
* *stub* – a minotaur, referring to the practice of filing minotaur horns as punishment during the invasion of their homeland
* *teaser* – an adept pickpocket, thief, or burglar
* *teeth show* – armed fighting with the intent to kill
* *tryst* – a tiefling, referring to their bloodline being tainted by a fling with a devil, also *muckblood*
* *varied trades* – any kind of criminal know-how
* *wet twenty –* a short but dangerous job, generally high risk high reward
* *window beggar* – an active member of the criminal underworld, a scoundrel, sometimes simply *beggar*
* *yapper* – a revolver pistol

* *to cob* *–* to knock someone out
* *to halfmark –* to short someone in what you owe them (usually monetarily)
* *to ink* – to kill quietly, referring to throwing a corpse immediately into the inkwater so it can't be found
* *to grin* – to kill messily and violently, referring to slitting a throat into an "ear to ear grin"
* *to hound –* to search or investigate an area, generally with the intention of catching someone specific
* *to lurch* – to lose someone tailing you or escape the constables
* *to neck* - to be executed, referring to hanging
* *to peep -* to spy on or stake out someone or someplace
* *to rust* – to dispose of an object in a permanent manner
* *to sharp* – to swindle or cheat someone out of money
* *to sketch* – to forge documents
* *to sop* - to bribe someone
* *to sour -* to make a situation go bad
* *to squeak* – to confess, leak information, or snitch
* *to sty* – to surrender to the constables
* *to sweet* – to charm someone, typically with lies
* *to tease* – to steal from someone or someplace
* *to twist* – to run a con, trick, or ploy on a target
* *to wring* – to torture for information

* *casing the mire –* a saying for doing something that has extremely low chances of success: "We're really casing the mire on this one."
* *down by the docks* *–* a saying for someone who's looking for work: "I take it you're down by the docks?"
* *flirting with the crows –* a saying for putting yourself in harm's way, often stupidly so: "You're just flirting with the crows at this point."
* *goats eat coats –* a saying for accepting a situation, it is what it is: "If that had worked we'd be set, but goats eat coats."
* *good as a grey loaf –* a saying for something that isn't great, but will do for now: "I've done what I can, it's good as a grey loaf."
* *on the wine and up –* a saying for someone that's doing very well for themselves financially: "You've been on the wine and up lately!"
* *safe as a devil's handshake –* a saying for something obviously unsafe: "Great, we're safe as a devil's handshake in here."
* *see past the sheets –* a saying for seeking the truth of a matter: "Look, I'm just trying to see past the sheets here."
* *stroll in the canal –* a saying for doing something incredibly stupid: "What's next, a stroll in the canal?"
* *teasing for slugs –* a saying for casing an area for pickpocketing work: "I was over at the Eaves teasing for slugs."

As a further extension to the spoken slang, Rotwelsch is also used in written format, making use of a number of rune-like symbols that each have a simple assigned meaning, and can be easily mimicked by hand signals for easy communication. Though more limited than the spoken form in what they can convey, these symbols are used everywhere as a quick and easy way to convey broad messages to anyone else that might be looking.