Slang Words for Jail Throughout the history of the United States there have been many slang words for jail . Depending on the era in which you were born, you will definitely notice that people alter and come up with new slang words for jail native to the time. If you think back to the many slang words for jail that you have heard over the years, you will more than likely come up with a longer list of words that you never imagined possible. Jail Has Its Own Slang Words Here are a list of popular slang terms which have been used for jail. Some of them you may recognize and others you might not. Nonetheless, these are terms that have filtered down through the eras and have managed to retain their place and usage in contemporary American linguistics: Hoosegow, mainline joint, skinner joint, stoney lonesome, con college, glasshouse, bucket, club fed, greybar hotel, big house, slammer, calaboose, castle, cooler, country club, crowbar hotel, digger, farm, guardhouse, hole, joint, jug, juvie, pen, pokey, rock, sneezer, stockade, the clink.

The above list is a combination of words used to describe either the word “jail” in a broad sense or even to describe the word “jail” but in a more concise sense. Alcatraz Many of the words actually use to refer to a particularly notorious jail. For example, the term “the rock” use to refer to the prison Alcatraz. That particular prison is situated on a rocky island in the San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz was open for 29 years and has quite a bit of history surrounding it. Although the prison is now closed, the term “the rock” that initially referred to Alcatraz has since become a term that generally relates to any prison. Sing Sing Another example is the term “the castle” which used to refer to Sing Sing prison. Located in Ossining, New York, Sing Sing prison is one of America’s oldest prisons and is quite often referred to as “the castle on the Hudson River.” The word “castle” is now used to refer to any jail as well. Angola Finally, the words “the farm” used to refer to the infamous maximum security prison in Angola, Louisiana. “The Farm” is an actual prison farm where the inmates work tirelessly during the day.

In the 1940s it was seen as the worst prison in America. As you can see, there are a plethora of words used as slang for jail that have managed to filter down into colloquial language. Each decade brings with it a new slang term. There is no telling what the future holds. History Behind the Words Did you know that the culture of society can have a particular impact on the words that evolve out of that era . Take the 1930s for instance; you will notice that there evolved a plethora of linguistic slang. As relative to the topic at hand, there is no doubt about it that several slang words for jail came into existence. Gangsters Were Heros Think for a moment, if you will, back to a time when gangsters were seen as heroes. The 1930s were such a time. The nation was coming out of a huge recession known as The Great Depression , and people needed heroes. So it was that many found their “hero” not in the fiction stories displayed in the movies or read over the airwaves. They found their national heroes in criminals who were fresh out of the big house.

The words “big house” were used to refer to a jail in the 1930s. It was during that era that the rate of incarceration in the United States was at an all time high. Internally, the prison system had their own social caste or subculture that was governed by an unwritten convict code that was instituted by the inmates themselves. So, while the trends of society may have had an effect on the slang for prison or jail, you better believe that the internal convict subculture also had a huge part in creating the slang as well. Prison Lingo: The Language of the Prison Community | English Project Prison Lingo: The Language of the Prison Community Category: PRISON LINGO: THE LANGUAGE OF THE PRISON COMMUNITY Christopher Mulvey ‘Prison Lingo: The Language of the Prison Community’ is the result of a collaboration between the English Project and HMP Winchester in October 2010. That year the theme of the English Language Festival was the Language of Place and Community, and prisoners were invited to listen to a talk about the origins and development of prison cant, slang and jargon and, at the same time, to contribute their own knowledge of prison language and to talk about their use of it.

Six prisoners, two officers and a university professor engaged in a two-and-a-half-hour seminar that mixed lecture, class work and chat. One prisoner was new to the system; another had spent ten years in various prisons. Two prisoners came from Europe, and one of them was more interested in learning Standard English than Prison English. The most voluble prisoner was an Afro-Caribbean; the most informative made the comment that the important thing about prison lingo is its wit. The glossary at the end of this article gives the words and terms that these men provided. A number of items are good proofs of prison wit. The English Project’s thanks go to these men, to the two officers in attendance, to Vinod Bhalla, HMP Winchester’s Curriculum Team Leader, for arranging the class, and to David Ward, Governor of HMP Winchester, for giving permission for the class. Prison is a rich place for talk. Randy Kearse, an American convict, spent nine years in prison compiling a dictionary that he called it Street Slang. It was published in 2007. He planned to collect 1001 terms, and he ended up with 10,000.

That’s a lot of words, but they say that there are now a million words in the English language. Most people have use from 20,000 to 50,000 words so that leaves a lot of words to spare, many thousands of them are slang words. Randy Hearse was not making a dictionary of prison lingo exclusively, but prison is a good place, he says, to collect words. ‘Guys have nothing but time on their hands in prison. So being able to talk witty, being able to talk slick, really highlights you as an individual.’ (Kearse, qtd in Curtis). The English Project is very interested in the languages, or lingoes as we like to call them, of special groups because they can tells us a great deal about the English language. Prison lingo is a special version of the English language. It is very old; it goes back to Shakespeare’s day and beyond, and it is widespread. Versions are found in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, everywhere in the English-speaking world.

Prison lingo is primarily a spoken language; it can be written down, but it is not intended to be used for writing and so it has it own special features and its own problems for students. Prison lingo overlaps with street talk, teentalk, rhyming slang, Cockney, and the home dialects of prisoners so it is sometimes difficult to say whether this word or that phrase should be included, but there is a host of words that are clearly part of prison lingo. Julie Coleman, a linguist at the University of Leicester, has provided some useful terms to help us discuss special forms of the English language like prison lingo. She talks about slang, jargon and cant: ‘slang is defined as the ephemeral terms used by any in-group in order to distinguish them from other groups; jargon is defined as a professional language allowing for precise discussion of topics related to the given vocation; and cant is defined as a language used to obfuscate meaning completely from those not accepted by the in-group, ordinarily for criminal intent’. (Coleman, qtd by Ellis) Prison lingo has elements of all three: slang, jargon and cant.

Cant, or secret language, is perhaps the oldest form of prison lingo. The Oxford English Dictionary calls cant ‘the secret language […] used by gipsies, thieves, professional beggars, etc.’ (OED) Thieves’ cant was popular on the stage in Shakespeare’s day, and, since it was used so often in plays, it seems the audience must have known what the words meant or could guess the meanings pretty well. Thieves’ cant continued as a language of eighteenth century London where the back streets were filled with ‘jarkmen, lurchers, dudders, lully priggers, hods and kinchins, tom turdmen and mopsqueezers’. They were all different kinds of tricksters and conmen. Their talk got the name ‘Flash’ because it was so racy, lively and rich. (Tupper) Romani, the language of the gypsies, has provided a large number of words in London thieves’ cant. People talking Romani would truly be talking a secret language as far as the London thief takers were concerned. (Becker-Ho, qtd by Ellis) And that contrasts with London cant which thief takers were as likely to know as the thieves themselves.

Thieves’ cant is street talk, a language of the outside world, but it was also used on the inside so it is the starting point for prison lingo. Jargon and slang provide further words. Jargon is where the language of the law and the language of prisoners overlap. Website glossaries exist for lawyers’ terms, police terms, prison officers’ terms, and parole-board terms. By contrast with cant and slang, jargon is a formal kind of language, as likely to appear in writing as in speech. Some terms, like ‘wing’, and ‘block’, appear in law enforcement lists as well as prison-lingo lists. Some of the legal lingo, like ‘ASBO’, ‘ABC’ (for Antisocial Behaviour Contract), ‘ABH’ and ‘GBH’, are used by both sides of the law. Those examples are all acronyms, and the majority of prison officer terms in the website glossaries are made up that way. Some terms, like ‘association’, ‘parole’, and ‘segregation’, are part of the general vocabulary but have special meanings within the prison system.

‘Slopping out’, a phrase used to describe an action found only in prisons, is a piece of prison lingo suspended between jargon and slang. ‘Slopping out’ was abolished in England and Wales in the 1990s, but the practice still continues in Scotland as does the term. In 2007, there was a great debate about it - in the House of Lords, the law courts, and the Scottish Parliament. Always the phrase ‘slopping out’ appears in quotation marks as if it is a substitute for a more polite phrase, but what that is no one cares to say. (BBC News) If cant is the oldest kind of prison lingo, slang will be the most recent kind. Slang has a strange quality: it changes at a much greater rate than the language as a whole. That is why it is not liked by teachers and judges. The Oxford English Dictionary calls it a ‘special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type’. (OED) That is a very negative description of one of the English language’s most creative fields, a form of the language that changes as rapidly as the group using it changes.

Teentalk changes every five years, and it does so because it is so easily picked up by outside groups. Teenagers like to talk a language that is closed to their parents and teachers, but to remain closed it has to keep changing. Prison slang shows a rate of change slower than that of Teenspeak but, nonetheless, it is subject to a fairly rapid rate of change. It needs also to be said that it displays great creativity by way of irony, rhyme, pun and image. In studying prison lingo, we are looking for cant, slang and jargon. The job is not easy. Jesse Sheidlower, a one-time dictionary editor, ‘prefers guides from amateurs who are collecting slang from their environs rather than dictionary professionals’ who often take their material from written sources. (Curtis) But collecting words in the prisons raises its own problems. Patrick Ellis of the University of Toronto says that most online glossaries have been compiled by prison guards for themselves and other authority figures. They are, then, in his opinion, to be mistrusted for that reason. (Ellis) Another tricky problem with prison lingo is that sometimes prisoners feed nonsense to people who come asking them questions.

American prison lingo is the best documented, especially on the net, and it has a very large African American element in the Northern prisons and a large Latin American element in the southern prisons. ‘Despite such regionalism,’ says Patrick Ellis, ‘there is a lasting and remarkably diffuse presence of certain archaic slang and cant terms, if not entire cant languages, in prison environments across the country.’ The same is true of Australian prison lingo, especially since Australian English owes so much to Cockney English. Many of the websites that provide explanations of prison lingo claim to be helping the wives and girl friends of prisoners understand what their men are saying. There is another group of people who might find a guide to prison lingo useful - people about to enter prison. For them, the Prison Reform Trust in collaboration with the Prison Service provides a book called the Prisoners’ Information Book. On the cover, there is a quotation from a prisoner at HMP Wandsworth. He says: ‘Arriving at prison can be a bewildering and stressful experience. This handbook is like having a friend to guide you through the first steps inside.’ The Prisoners’ Information Book aims to help men arriving at prison.

It has got 159 pages of information, and it covers Arrival, Appeals, Sentences, Family, Prison Life, Health, Rules, and so on. However, it does not have a section on prison lingo, and it would be a good to start to write such a section up. (The glossary at the end of this article represents a beginning.) Prison lingo has been said to be ‘charged with cynicism, suspicion, gloom and coercion’ (Morgan, qtd by Tupper), and that seems true enough; however, the prisoners at HMP Winchester did not take a negative view of their language. As the prisoners offered their words for a beginner’s glossary, there was a great deal of laughing and joking with amusing disputations about the meanings of words. ‘Nosh’ appeared to mean more than one thing, and the link between the meanings revealed a dark humour. The name ‘bomb squad’ given to the prisoners set to clean an area into which excrement has been thrown pokes as much fun at the police force’s elite as it does at prison inmates.

Vernon Tupper and Richard Wortley, who have made a study of the matter, argue that the reasons that prisoners use prison lingo are release, emotion, the need to express violence without being violent, teasing, and joking. (Tupper) HMP Winchester prisoners only went so far with this explanation, and they were even less satisfied with another of Tupper and Wortley’s explanations. The experts say that a prisoner needs to learn prison lingo in order to survive in the violent world of the prison in order that not to expose himself as new to it or aloof from it. (Tupper) HMP Winchester prisoners said that it was not particularly important to learn prison lingo. One of them added, ‘It’s easy enough to learn; you soon pick it up.’ HMP Winchester, it was agreed, is not a violent prison. The prisoners said that they are not frightened of bullying, there are no gangs and there is no routine intimidation.

That reflects the kind of prison that it is, largely remand, and with no Category A prisoners - ‘prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or the police or the security of the state.’ (PAS) It might be more important to become more fluent in prison lingo in a more dangerous prison. Prison lingo is said to have particular areas of high verbal activity. Tupper and Wortley (quoting Clemmer) list: sex, body parts, descriptions of others, alcohol, drugs, and prison related uses. Ellis lists ‘sexual practices, contraband and crime, and institutional processes’. The HMP Winchester glossary, as so far collected, does and does not bear this line of argument out. Certainly there are word clusters. Five words came up for paedophile. There is a clutch of words relating to beating up and or restraining a prisoner. But only four terms relating to sexual activity were provided, and none relating to body parts. It is likely that the fact that the words were being collected in an open classroom with a stranger and two women officers present led to the prisoners not giving anything like a full list. Very few words, also, were provided in the areas of alcohol and drugs.

Some conclusions can be drawn. Prison slang is a linguistic resource, one valued by linguists. One of them gives the following reasons for doing so: historical research, sociological analysis, and criminal psychology. (Tupper) At the same time, it is probably right to think that prisoners can gain something from being made aware that there are those in the outside world who take a keen interest in prison lingo. Being aware and proud of your own English is an aid to using appropriate English. And becoming aware of the English you are using is an aid to using English better. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A GLOSSARY OF HMP WINCHESTER LINGO The eighty-one words and terms that follow are the lexical items that were collected in a single session with six prisoners in HMP Winchester. A full prison glossary would contain at least 1000 items.

A Four = A Four-Year Sentence A Two = A Two-Year Sentence An Eight = An Eight-Year Sentence Animal = A Paedophile Apps = Applications, such as applying tomake phone calls Bacon, Bacon Head = A Paedophile, (Rhyming Slang, Bonce (Head) > Nonce) Bang Weights = To Work Out in the Gym Bang-Out, Banging-Out: To Beat up Bang-up, Banging-Up = To lock in a cell Bare = Plenty, Lots of, as in ‘I have bare cigarettes.’ Bash = To Masturbate Basic, Put on Basic = Confined to Cell with Privileges (television, books, etc) Removed Beast = A Paedophile Bend-Up, Bending-Up = To restrain a prisoner in his cell, prior to moving him Bin = A Prison Bird = Time in Prison (Rhyming Slang, Bird-Lime) Bird, Doing Bird = To spend time in prison Blag, Blagging = To Rob Block = The Punishment Block Bomb Squad = Prisoners set to clean an area into which excrement has been thrown from the windows of the prison Boob = A Prison Box = Cell within a Cell Brew = Alcohol Burn Cat = A Tobacco Addict Cage = Cell

 within a Cell Carpet = A Sentence of Three Years Cat = A Convict Down the Brink = Segregated, Put in Segregation Drum = A House Spin, Spinning = To search a cell Sweeper = Someone who collects cigarette butts.

Swing, Swinging a Line = Cell to Cell Communication, often by meanings of swinging a piece of string from one cell to another Tear-Up, Tearing-Up = To Beat up Vanilla = A Judge (Rhyming Slang, Vanilla Fudge) Vera = Cigarette Paper (Rhyming Slang, Vera Lyn = A Skin) Visit, Visiting = To Leave the Prison, as in: ‘I’m going visiting.’ Wet-Up, Wetting-Up = To Cut Up Whack-Up, Whacking-Up = To Beat up Winda Warrior = Someone who shouts out of windows. Wood = An Erection Wrap-Up, Wrapping-Up = To restrain a prisoner in his cell, prior to moving him Wrong-un = A Paedophile REFERENCES BBC News. ‘Deal to end slopping out payments.’ 19 March 2009. . Curtis, Bryan. ‘The Con’s English: How to write a dictionary in prison.’ Slate. 2007. Ellis, Patrick. The Prison-House and Language: Modern American Prison Argot. Toronto: ~cpercy/courses/6362-ellis , 2005. Kearse, Randy. Street Slang.

Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2007. OED. Oxford English Dictionary. . PAS. ‘Categorisation - Male Prisoners.’ Prisoners Advice Service. PAS: Prison Reform Trust. Prisoners’ Information Book: Male Prisoners and Young Offenders. London: Prison Reform Trust, 2008. Tupper, Vernon, and Richard Wortley. Anthology of Prison Slang in Australia. Charles Sturt University: ~srelf/Psych1/INTROSLA.html , 1990. PRISON SLANG WORDS - A prison language of coded words PRISON SLANG WORDS A language of coded words used by offenders when communicating in prison AD SEG: Administrative segregation. A solitary cell reserved for problem prisoners and gang members who pose a threat to prison security. Protective custody offenders are often housed in Ad Seg. Alicia- Offensive term used to identify a Barrio Azteca member Avanico – Term used when describing an Aryan Circle prison gang member. Blasting – term used by the Tango Blast prison gang when referring about a fellow gang member.

Abispa (Wasp) – Term used by Hispanic prison gangs when describing an Aryan Brotherhood gang member. B.B. Gaytan – Offensive term the Barrio Azteca uses to describe a California based rival gang formally known as the Border Brothers . Bone – Term used when describing a shank. Bombita – Slang term for (TCB) Tri City Bomber prison gang Booty Bandit - A term used in prison to describe a prison rapist who rapes weaker inmates. Borracho – Term used by convicts when referring to a member of the PRM Partida Revulucanios Mexicanos . Bro - Term strictly used by White gang members when describing their fellow gang members. Cakero – Term used to describe a convict who rapes weaker inmates. Calaca – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when describing a murder. Calles de Oro (Streets of Gold) Term used by Hispanic gang members when referring to the streets. Car – Slang term for prison gang Chow Time – Term convicts and staff use to describe lunch and dinner time. Chump – Term used by prisoners describing a gullible inmate. Chuntaro – Offensive term American born Hispanics use to describe a Mexican National.

C.O.’s – Correctional Officers Cock Blocker – Term used by convicts to describe an offender or staff who interferes or is annoyed with offenders who masturbate on female staff. Color Scared- Term used by white offenders to describe a white inmate or staff who fears African American prisoners. Convict – term of respect describing a prisoner who is experienced in crime and prison life. Corpitos – Term used by Hispanic inmates when referring to Corpus Christi, Texas. Crepa (Crap) – Offensive term used when describing a Crip gang member. Cuerno – Term used to describe a Texas Syndicate member. Cuz – term used by Crip gang members when describing a fellow Crip member. Cuete- term used when referring to a (HPL) Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos member. Dog – Term used by Blood gang members when referring to a fellow Blood gang member. D-Town – Term used to describe Dallas, Texas. El Chuco – Term used to describe El Paso, Texas. ESE – General prison term blacks and whites use when describing a Hispanic prisoner. Back doored – Term used by offenders when describing a surprise assault on an inmate or staff.

El Sharko – Term used to describe Corpus Christi, Texas. Encaruchado – Term used by Hispanic offenders when describing a prisoner who is a member of a prison gang. Escina – Slang for non member gang associate who offers support to prison gang. Fama – Short for family. Hispanic prisoners generally use this term to describe a prison gang. Fierro-Term used by Hispanics when referring to a shank. Foritos – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when referring to Ft. Worth, Texas. Fresh meat – term used by inmates when describing a new and weak looking prisoner. GOON SQUAD: A term used by inmates to describe correctional officers who are fully geared in protective vests, shields and riot gas. Kid - A term used to describe an inmate who is paying for protection. Kite – Term used to describe a small note sent by one prisoner to another. Hoe – Offensive term inmates use when describing a woman. Houstone – Term used to describe Houston, Texas. Hug a thug- Term used by correctional officers when describing a fellow staff officer who makes friends with offenders. H-Town Term generally used to describe Houston, Texas.

Indio- Term used to describe a Barrio Azteca member. Jail House lawyer- Term used to describe inmate with legal experience. Jiggers – Term used by prisoners for another prisoner who is asked to watch out for officers during the commission of a crime. Juaritos – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when referring to Ciudad Juarez Mexico. La Capirucha – term used by Hispanic convicts when referring to Austin, Texas. La Escura – Term used by Hispanic gang members when describing a fellow gang member who is excluded from all gang activities as a form of punishment. La Lista Negra (The Black list) – term Hispanic gang members use to describe an ex gang member marked for death. La Oreja – Term used to describe San Antonio, Texas. La Playa – Term used by Hispanic prisoner when describing a shower. Larette – term used by Hispanic inmates when referring to Laredo, Texas. La Yoga – term Hispanic prisoners use to describe a toilet. Lobo – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when referring to Lubbock, Texas. Luz Verde – term used by Hispanic gang members to describe a contract murder or hit. Melasa – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when describing a Correctional Officer .

Meskin – Offensive term black and white offender’s use when describing a Hispanic inmate. Merecido – Term used to describe a Mexikanemi member. Mexicles – term used to describe prisoners from Mexico. Mexicles is also a term used to describe a unity of Mexican Nationals in prison. Miona – Offensive term used by rival prison gangs to describe a Mexikanemi member. Moyo – Offensive term used by Hispanic prisoners when describing a black man. Mud – slang term used by convicts to describe coffee. Neutron- Term used by both black and white gang members when describing a prisoner not affiliated with a gang. New Boot – Term used to describe a new correctional officer or inmate. Ojo de Agila (Eagles Eye) – Term used by convicts when advised to “Watch Out” for officers and snitches. Old School – Term of respect used to describe older prisoner. Oregano – Term used by Hispanic gang members when referring to money. Orejon – Term used to describe prisoner from San Antonio, Texas. Peckerwood – A white offender usually affiliated with a prison gang. Perica – term used by Hispanic prisoners when referring to a radio.

Perra – Offensive term gang rivals use to describe a PRM member. Pico – Term used by Hispanic inmates when describing a shank. Punk – Offensive term to describe a homosexual or weak offender. Rata – Offensive term used by rivals when describing a Raza Unida gang member. Rat Pack – Term used by offenders to describe an assault on one inmate or staff by a large group of gang members. Relaje – Term used by Hispanic offenders describing a prison snitch. Ride – Slang term for prison gang. Riding – Slang term to describe a weaker offender buying protection from a prison gang. Scrub – Term used to describe a prisoner who begs other inmates for necessities. SHAKE DOWN: A term used by both correctional officers and inmates to describe when officers search an inmate cell. Shank – Prison made knife. Slob – Offensive term when describing a Blood gang member. Soda – Term used by Hispanic prisoners when referring to cocaine. Solano – Term used by Hispanic gang members when describing a prisoner not affiliated with a gang. Square- Term used to describe a cigarette. SSI – Abbreviation for Support Service Inmates. Term used to describe an inmate trusty.

Taxi – Term used by convicts when referring to a trusty inmate. Tejano – Term used to describe Texas Syndicate member. Tenedor – Term used by Hispanic gangs to describe a Disciple gang member. Teta – Offensive term used by rival gangs to describe a Texas Syndicate member. The dime – A term gang members use to describe the 10% tax charged on non member criminals selling drugs on gang territory. Thug – Term used to describe a joint. Trucha – Slang term for “Be Alert” signal that officers are around. Vaca – offensive term used by Hispanic gangs when referring to Texas Syndicate member. Valluco – term used to describe the south Texas Valley. Warriche – Slang term used by Hispanic prisoners when describing coffee. Weso – Term used by Hispanic inmates when referring to West Texas. White boy- Offensive term used by convicts describing a weak Anglo inmate. Woods- White prisoners who have earned the respect of fellow offenders by fighting back when provoked. Yeska – term used by Hispanics when referring to marijuana. 5-o – term used to describe the police. jail Synonyms | Collins English Thesaurus immure QUOTATION: Go to jail. Go directly to jail.

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. [Charles Brace Darrow – Instructions for Monopoly] Copyright © 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Additional synonyms confine If someone is confined to a mental institution, prison, or other place, they are sent there and are not allowed to leave for a period of time. • He has been confined to his barracks. Prison slang Prison slang Mark Barnsley English Cons will be entirely familiar with the nineteenth century American prison slang, since most of it is still in use in English gaols today. Presumably it was 'taken over' to the States by ex-cons from over here. They use words like 'screw' for example. This word comes from when turn-keys were responsible for turning the screw which made the Treadmill harder - they didn't have the Treadmill in the States. English words like 'stir' (much the same as 'porridge') were still in use in American prisons in the 1930s, though this began to be corrupted into 'stare'. What I find interesting is why we still have most of these very old words, and yet they've disappeared from use in US prisons.

Other indications of the fact these words originated here are words coming from cockney rhyming slang like 'Peter' for a safe or prison cell, a peter-man is a safecracker. Berkman uses 'Pete-man' for the same thing. It's the same with criminal slang outside prison, for example 'copper' seems to have been in use in America until the 50s or 60s. Yet it's disappeared now. Maybe they just revise their slang more frequently. Of course English prison and criminal slang is constantly being revised, as is the Scottish equivalent, but many old words never change - 'Screw' being an obvious one, a 'stiff' (a smuggled letter), which Berkman also uses, is another.

MB In A Glossary of Prison Slang | Mother Jones A Glossary of Prison Slang A Glossary of Prison Slang From "Buck Rogers time" (a sentence with a far-future parole date) to "the monster" (HIV) bone yard: trailers used for conjugal visits brake fluid: psychiatric meds such as liquid Thorazine Buck Rogers time: a sentence with parole unimaginably far in the future chalk: prison moonshine chin check: to punch an inmate in the jaw to see if he'll fight back clavo: (Spanish for "nail") dangerous contraband diaper sniper: child molester diesel therapy: a lengthy bus trip, used as a punishment ding wing: mental health ward erasers: chunks of processed chicken high class: hepatitis C jack book: any magazine with pictures of women the monster: hiv ninja turtles: guards dressed in riot gear robocop: guard who writes up every infraction, no matter how small six-five: warning that a guard is approaching stainless-steel ride: lethal injection 13 1/2: 12 jurors, 1 judge, and 1/2 a chance; seen in prison tattoos The Mojo Prison Guide Menu Appendix:U.S.

prison slang - Wiktionary Appendix:U.S. prison slang Wikipedia This appendix documents slang terms that appear to be specific to United States prisons. Terms are grouped for convenience' sake by state of known use, though it is likely that many of the terms are used in more than one state. Contents: California[ edit ] car: Refers to group identity depending on what county you are from.For instance you would hear. " I'm the (shot caller) for [x] County I have the (keys) to the car. chomo: Child molestor. They are the most hated and reviled of all inmates and will get stabbed or killed if possible. pruno: Alchol. Often made from fruit and sugar. If you have beaten a woman you will be subject to (Removal) from the yard,this constitutes a beating by two or more inmates all at once, one is (jumped) then taken to The Hole i.e. What is now called Administrative Segregation. There are other instances where a (Removal) is warranted often it is for an offense whether real or perceived against another inmate his family or friends. In prison even a rumor can get you hurt or even killed.

Prison Slang 101 - What does that word mean? [Archive] - Prison Talk ...This site has a Huge List of Prison Slang definitions.... also see this list below. The following is an alphabetized list of common everyday PRISON SLANG. Should you "go away to cooking school" knowing these phrases could mean life or death. Good Luck! Ad-Seg : Administrative segregation. When a prisoner is placed on Ad-seg he is being investigated and will go to the hole until the investigation is complete. See Segregation. Beef : Criminal charges. As, "I caught a burglary beef this time around." Can also be used to mean problem. "I have a beef with that guy." Big yard : Main recreation yard. Bit : Prison sentence, usually relatively short. "I got a three-year bit." Oppose jolt. Bitch, bitched(v). : To be sentenced as a "habitual offender." Blocks : Cellhouses. Books : Administratively controlled account ledger which lists each prisoner's account balance. Bone Yard : The visiting trailers, used for overnight visits of wives and/or families. Bum Beef : A false accusation. Also, a wrongful conviction. Care Package : Food or clothing sent from a friend.

Catch a ride :To ask a friend with drugs to get you high. "Hey man, can I catch a ride?" Cell soldier : A person who talks tough when the cells are locked. The Chain : The bus transports that bring prisoners to prison. One is shackled and chained when transported. As, "I've been riding the chain," or "I just got in on the chain," or "Is there anyone we know on the chain?" Check-in : Someone who has submitted to pressure, intimidation, debts, etc., and no longer feels secure in population and "checks in" to a Protective Custody (PC) unit. Chi-mo : Child-molester, "chester," "baby-raper," "short-eyes," (as, "he has short-eyes," meaning he goes after young kids). The worst of the rapo class in the eyes of convicts. Contract : A written agreement between a prisoner and Administration which allows a prisoner to be released from a Detention Unit with probation-like stipulations.

Convict : Guys who know the score, guys with a little something to them, guys with pride, guys that count in the scheme of things--guys that live up to the convict code, who aren't stool-pidgeons (informants), who are loyal to the code, whose word is good, who won't play false with other convicts. Oppose inmate. Cross-roader : A traveling thief, moves around a lot working on his hustles. Travels from town to town, city to city, working his "game" (his hustle). C.U.S. : Custody Unit Supervisor/Cellhouse supervisor. De-Seg : Disciplinary Segregation. When a person is on De-seg he is in the "hole" for an infraction. Ding : A disrespectful term for a mentally deranged prisoner. Dry snitching : To inform on someone indirectly by talking loud or performing suspicious actions when officers are in the area. Dummy Up, Get on the dummy : To shut up, to pipe down, to be quiet, especially about one's knowledge of a crime. E.P.R.D. : Earliest possible release date.

Fish : A new arrival, a first-timer, a bumpkin, not wise to prison life. Gate Money : The paltry sum the state gives a prisoner upon his release, towards his starting a new life in the free world. Gate Time : At most joints they holler "gate time" meaning one can get in or out of their cell. See lock up Greener : As, "he's a greener," or "He's green as grass." A bumpkin, a lop, one who's untutored in thievery or scams, a dummy. Hacks/Hogs/Pigs/Snouts/Screws/Cops/Bulls : The guards, called "Correctional Officers" by themselvesand inmates. Heat Wave : Being under constant suspicion, thereby bringing attention to those around you. Hit it : Go away, leave, get lost. Hold your mud : Not tell, even under pressure of punishment. The Hole : An isolation ("segregation") cell, used as punishment for the most paltry of offenses as well as serious offenses. House : Cell. Hustle : A professional criminal's avocation. Pickpocketing, burglary, and safe-cracking (now rare) are all hustles.

Also refers to any scheme to obtain money or drugs while in prison. I.K. : Inmate Kitchen. I.M.U. : Intensive Management Unit, meaning ad seg or the hole. A euphemism that the prison regime uses to call the hole something that sounds nice. It's double speak guards and administrators use to make something primitive and ugly sound nice and professional. Industry area As, "out in the industry area"--the area, usually in the back part of prisons, where you can find various maintenance shops such as laundry, electric, carpentry, and the small industries that go on in prisons. Inmate : Derogatory term for prisoners. Used by guards and administrators, or other inmates who are fish (first-timers and new arrivals who don't know the lingo yet)--or kiss-asses, "lops," fools, dingbats, and assorted other goofball inmates. Oppose convict. In the car : In on the "deal." Iron Pile: Weight, weightlifting equipment. Jacket : Prison file containing all information on a prisoner. "He's a child molester, it's in his jacket." Also reputation. Prisoners can put false jackets on other prisoners to discredit them.

Jolt : A long sentence, as "I got a life jolt." Oppose bit. Jumping-Out : Turning to crime, as "I've been jumping out since I was a kid," or "I jumped out as soon as I got sprung on my last beef". Keister : To hide something in the anal cavity. To "Keister" (pronounced Keester) something, as in, "I've got the dope stashed in the keister" or "suitcase". Kite : A request for services within the joint, i.e. request for dental or medical services, request to see sundry prison personnel (guards or administrators). In a broad sense, any written correspondence. Lag : A convict, as in, "He's an old lag, been at it all his life." Lame : Stupid or naive. Lay-in : Appointment. "I have a lay-in to the barber shop." Lifer : Anyone with a life sentence or anyone doing "all day", meaning forever - a life jolt. Live or Memorex : Live-- To have. Memorex-- Don't have.Not really considered prison slang by old school convicts; it's used by guys trying to be cool or hip.

Lock-down : When prisoners are confined to their cells. Lock-up : Free movement period for prisoners. See also gate time. Lop : See inmate. Main Line : Main population of the prison. Can also be used to refer to intravenous drug use. Med-line: Medication line, or pill-line. Mule : A person who smuggles drugs into the institution. N.G. : "No Good," as "He's N.G." (meaning he's a rat, or a bumbler, he talks too much). Old School : Reference to the way prisons used to be, particularly more respect given to fellow prisoners, less informing, less horseplay. "he's an old school convict," meaning stand up or raised right. On : (e.g.) one Alert given by prisoners with respect to which tier a guard is on. You holler out, "cops on one" (tier one) or two, or whichever tier. Alerts the guys on that tier to be careful. On the leg : A prisoner who is always chatting with and befriending guards. On your lips : Very high on drugs or alcohol. Used by lops to sound hip. Paper: A small quantity of drugs packaged for selling. P.C.

: Protective Custody. Also as in "He's a PC case", meaning weak or untrustworthy. Pepsi Generation: Newer, younger prisoners, who lack respect for Old School ways. Plex : Originated from "complex", as in "Don't 'plex' up on me." Used to connote extreme reactions that go overboard, and aren't warranted by the situation. Point/Outfit : Syringe. Punk : Derogatory term meaning homosexual or weak individual. Rapo : Anyone with a sex crime--generally looked down on by convicts. Rat/Snitch/Stool Pidgeon : n., informant. v., to inform. Rounder : A hustler, a thief, one who's been around the block. As "He's an old rounder who's cut a few corners in life." Sallyport : Security area where guards enter the institution. Scam : A well-planned scheme. As, "he's a scammer," or "He works some good scams." Meaning a thief's hustle, his game. Scan call : Monitored telephone call.

Score : The loot from a crime, as "I got a good score out of that place." Segregation : A disciplinary unit, used for minor and major offenses, where prisoners are kept apart from the main population and denied most all privileges. Send-out : To send money off your books, for drugs, a wager, curio purchase, etc. or any joint transaction where you got to pay a guy for something. Shake-down : Search. Shank : Homemade knife. **** watch : A person who is suspected of hiding drugs in his anus will be placed on a **** watch. Short : An prisoner who is close to his release date.

Slammed : "He's slammed down," meaning locked in the hole or ad seg Sprung : Getting out of jail or prison, as "The attorney sprung me on it," or "I did a 3-spot (three year sentence) and got sprung on that beef." Square John : A "square," doesn't know the ropes, a sucker, as "he's as square as a shoebox," or "he's as square as a box of Wenatchee apples." Also a working stiff, a law-abiding citizen, as "He's a square john, works a shift in a sawmill." State issue: Anything provided by the state. Stash : To hide something. Can also be used to refer to drugs. Stand Point : Watch for "the man" (guard). Stick : Marijuana cigarette. Also called a joint, thin one, hooter, reefer, etc. Store : Commissary. Where a prisoner may purchase food, health, or welfare items. Street to street : A form of payment for a drug deal where a prisoner's (outside) people send money to another prisoner's people. Tag/Write-up : Infraction of institution rules. Tailor made : Factory rolled cigarettes.

The bag/sack : Dope. Tom or George: Meaning "no good," (Tom) or "okay" (George). This is used in conversation to indicate if something or someone is all right or not all right. Also used in sign language, stroking an imaginary beard is the "George" sign (named after King George, who wore a beard), meaning it's okay (to 'make a move', that no one is watching, that the coast is clear), or the "Tom" sign, meaning it or he is not any good, indicated by tweaking the nose or tugging at the ear lobe. Turned out : Generally means to be cajoled or forced into homosexual acts. But one could also turn out a guard - turn him to "pack" (pack drugs) for you. So, to "turn out" is to use someone for your own ends. U.A. : Urinalysis (Piss Test). White money : Currency within the institution. Wolf ticket: To speak aggressively to someone without intending to back it up with violence. "He's selling wolf tickets", meaning he's barking but not going to bite. Also used as street slang. Workline : When cells are opened so prisoners can report to work.

Yard-in : Command given to return to your cell. Closing of the recreation yard. Yard-out : Recreation yard opens. English and Australian rhyming slang is still common in U.S. prisons. Along with other prison languages such as Agini, Cezarney, and Elephant, it is used to keep the uninitiated in the dark while conversing. Barclay Hunt : ****.

Question: What is American slang for a prison?
Answer: Calaboose