
Published online:
01 January 2009
Published in print:
23 October 2008
Online ISBN:
9780191720772
Print ISBN:
9780199549375
Contents
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James Greenwood's The Seven Curses of London (1869) James Greenwood's The Seven Curses of London (1869)
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Alfred Trumble's Slang Dictionary of New York, London and Paris (1880) Alfred Trumble's Slang Dictionary of New York, London and Paris (1880)
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Sydney Slang Dictionary (c.1881) Sydney Slang Dictionary (c.1881)
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Cornelius Crowe's, Australian Slang Dictionary (1895) Cornelius Crowe's, Australian Slang Dictionary (1895)
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Josiah Flynt Willard's The World of Graft (1901) Josiah Flynt Willard's The World of Graft (1901)
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No. 1500, Life in Sing Sing (1904), Joseph Sullivan's Criminal Slang (1908), James J. Finerty's Criminalese (1926), and Film Daily's Fast Life glossary (1929) No. 1500, Life in Sing Sing (1904), Joseph Sullivan's Criminal Slang (1908), James J. Finerty's Criminalese (1926), and Film Daily's Fast Life glossary (1929)
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F. H. Tillotson's How to be a Detective (1909) F. H. Tillotson's How to be a Detective (1909)
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Lewis E. Jackson and C. R. Hellyer's A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang (c.1914) Lewis E. Jackson and C. R. Hellyer's A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang (c.1914)
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W. H. Wells's ‘Words Used in the Drug Traffic’ (1922) and ‘Drug Addicts Cant’ (1923) W. H. Wells's ‘Words Used in the Drug Traffic’ (1922) and ‘Drug Addicts Cant’ (1923)
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George Henderson's Keys to Crookdom (1924) George Henderson's Keys to Crookdom (1924)
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Henry Leverage's ‘Flynn's Dictionary of the Underworld’ (1925) Henry Leverage's ‘Flynn's Dictionary of the Underworld’ (1925)
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Herbert Yenne's ‘Prison Lingo’ (1927) Herbert Yenne's ‘Prison Lingo’ (1927)
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Charles L. Clark and E. E. Eubank's Lockstep and Corridor (1927) Charles L. Clark and E. E. Eubank's Lockstep and Corridor (1927)
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Maurice Smith's ‘Crook Argot’ (1928) Maurice Smith's ‘Crook Argot’ (1928)
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Fred Witman's ‘Jewelry Auction Jargon’ (1928) Fred Witman's ‘Jewelry Auction Jargon’ (1928)
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A. J. Barr's Let Tomorrow Come (1929) A. J. Barr's Let Tomorrow Come (1929)
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William G. Shepherd's ‘I Wonder Who's Driving Her Now?’ (1929) and Atcheson Laughlin Hench's ‘From the Vocabulary of Automobile Thieves’ (1930) William G. Shepherd's ‘I Wonder Who's Driving Her Now?’ (1929) and Atcheson Laughlin Hench's ‘From the Vocabulary of Automobile Thieves’ (1930)
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George Ingram's Hell's Kitchen (1930) George Ingram's Hell's Kitchen (1930)
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Jack Lait's Gangster Girl (1930) Jack Lait's Gangster Girl (1930)
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Roy Chadwick's Liberty glossaries (1930) Roy Chadwick's Liberty glossaries (1930)
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Paul Robert Beath's ‘More Crook Words’ (1930) Paul Robert Beath's ‘More Crook Words’ (1930)
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James P. Burke's ‘The Argot of the Racketeers’ (1930) James P. Burke's ‘The Argot of the Racketeers’ (1930)
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John Wilstach's ‘New Words’ (1931) John Wilstach's ‘New Words’ (1931)
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William Leavitt Stoddard's Financial Racketeering and How to Stop it (1931) William Leavitt Stoddard's Financial Racketeering and How to Stop it (1931)
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George Milburn's ‘Convicts' Jargon’ (1931) and Rose's Thesaurus (1934) George Milburn's ‘Convicts' Jargon’ (1931) and Rose's Thesaurus (1934)
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Early lists by David W. Maurer: ‘The Argot of the Underworld’ and ‘The Lingo of the Jug‐Heavy’ (both 1931), and Rose's Thesaurus (1934) Early lists by David W. Maurer: ‘The Argot of the Underworld’ and ‘The Lingo of the Jug‐Heavy’ (both 1931), and Rose's Thesaurus (1934)
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Variety's ‘English Underworld Slang’, Critchell Rimington's Bon Voyage Book, John H. Birss's ‘English Underworld Slang’ (all 1931), and Rose's Thesaurus (1934) Variety's ‘English Underworld Slang’, Critchell Rimington's Bon Voyage Book, John H. Birss's ‘English Underworld Slang’ (all 1931), and Rose's Thesaurus (1934)
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Eruera Tooné, Yankee Slang (1932) Eruera Tooné, Yankee Slang (1932)
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W. L. Hanchant's Newgate Garland (1932) W. L. Hanchant's Newgate Garland (1932)
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Associated Press ‘Dispatch from Chicago’ and ‘The American “Ganguage” ’ (both 1932) Associated Press ‘Dispatch from Chicago’ and ‘The American “Ganguage” ’ (both 1932)
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Robert M. Hyatt's ‘Correct Underworld “Lingo” ’ (1932) Robert M. Hyatt's ‘Correct Underworld “Lingo” ’ (1932)
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Goat Laven's Rough Stuff (1933) Goat Laven's Rough Stuff (1933)
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Charles E. Leach's On Top of the Underworld (1933) Charles E. Leach's On Top of the Underworld (1933)
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Noel Ersine's Underworld and Prison Slang (1933) Noel Ersine's Underworld and Prison Slang (1933)
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Hi Simons's ‘A Prison Dictionary (expurgated)’ (1933) and Rose's Thesaurus (1934) Hi Simons's ‘A Prison Dictionary (expurgated)’ (1933) and Rose's Thesaurus (1934)
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H. T. Webster's ‘They Don't Speak Our Language’ (1933) H. T. Webster's ‘They Don't Speak Our Language’ (1933)
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Maurice Weseen's Dictionary of American Slang: ‘Crooks' and Criminals' Slang’ list (1934) Maurice Weseen's Dictionary of American Slang: ‘Crooks' and Criminals' Slang’ list (1934)
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J. Louis Kuethe's ‘Prison Parlance’ (1934) J. Louis Kuethe's ‘Prison Parlance’ (1934)
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Robert Arnold's ‘Criminal Slang’ (1934) Robert Arnold's ‘Criminal Slang’ (1934)
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J. Glover's ‘Thieves Slang’ (1935) J. Glover's ‘Thieves Slang’ (1935)
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James Hargan's ‘The Psychology of Prison Language’ (1935) James Hargan's ‘The Psychology of Prison Language’ (1935)
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Albin Jay Pollock's The Underworld Speaks (1935) Albin Jay Pollock's The Underworld Speaks (1935)
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Irving Crump and John W. Newton's Our Police (1935) Irving Crump and John W. Newton's Our Police (1935)
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Thomas Courtney's ‘Hot Shorts’ (1935) Thomas Courtney's ‘Hot Shorts’ (1935)
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David W. Maurer's ‘The Lingo of the Good People’ (1935) David W. Maurer's ‘The Lingo of the Good People’ (1935)
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Robert Arnold's Underworld Slang (1936) Robert Arnold's Underworld Slang (1936)
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Philip Van Cise's Fighting the Underworld (1936) Philip Van Cise's Fighting the Underworld (1936)
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Conclusions Conclusions
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Chapter
Eleven: Dictionaries of Crime
Get access
Pages
303–370
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Published:October 2008
Cite
Coleman, Julie, 'Eleven: Dictionaries of Crime', A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries: Volume III: 1859-1936, A History Of Cant and Slang Dictionaries (Oxford , 2008; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Jan. 2009), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549375.003.0012, accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Abstract
This chapter looks at dictionaries of cant. In other words, dictionaries of criminal language, bringing together glossaries from the farthest corners of the English-speaking world. Several of these offer help to the police in detecting and detaining criminals. They offer a new insight into the glamorized world of the gangsters and speakeasies.
Keywords:
slang, dictionary, American, Britain, Australia, prohibition, Maurer, sociology, gangsters, speakeasies
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