128 Words with Senses That Started Out as Underworld Slang

128 Words with Senses That Started Out as Underworld Slang 128 Words with Senses That Started Out as Underworld Slang 128 Words with Senses That Started Out as Underworld Slang By Mark Nichol The slang senses of many words we use in conversation and in informal writing originated in jargon employed by criminals, often coined to disguise the activities they were describing when they spoke among one another. This post lists and defines a number of those words. action: bet, or betting, or criminal activity aggro: aggressive behavior angle: approach, or plan bananas: crazy (originally, â€Å"sexually perverted†) beat: escape, avoid beef: quarrel blow: leave boob: stupid person boost: steal bought: bribed break it up: stop argument or fight broad: woman buddy: man (as in addressing a person the speaker does not know) bum’s rush: act of being forcibly removed bump/bump off: kill bunk: nonsense buy: bribe case: check the site of a potential robbery chisel: cheat clam up: stop talking, or refuse to talk, to avoid giving information con: scheme to trick someone into relinquishing money con man: person who steals through trickery cop/copper: police officer or private detective crew: group of rank-and-file criminals subordinate to a leader; by extension, a group of people with whom one associates crumb: worthless person; originally, a noncriminal deep-six: bury dive: low-quality establishment, such as a dark, dingy bar doll: attractive woman dope: drugs, or information dough: money dump: see dive Feds: federal law-enforcement personnel fence: trade stolen items, or one who does so finger: identify fix: situation in which law-enforcement personnel have been bribed to overlook criminal activity fruit: homosexual (derogatory) fuzz: police glom: steal (by extension, â€Å"grab†) go straight: cease criminal activity goofy: crazy (by extension, â€Å"silly†) goon: low-level criminal graft: see con grand: thousand (dollars) grease: see buy grill: interrogate grifter: see â€Å"con man† haywire: mentally unbalanced heat: attention from law-enforcement personnel, or a gun (by extension, â€Å"psychological pressure†) heel: an incompetent criminal (by extension, â€Å"a villain or someone who takes on a villainous persona or role,† as in professional wrestling) hit: planned murder (by extension, â€Å"an attack on someone’s reputation†) hood(lum): see goon horn: telephone hot: stolen hype: cheat by short-changing, or hypodermic needle jam: trouble, or a troublesome situation jaw: talk joe: coffee joint: place junkie: drug user keister: buttocks, or a safe kisser: mouth knock off: see bump/â€Å"bump off† knock over: rob large: see grand lay low: remain out of sight so as to avoid attention after committing a crime legit: pertaining to legal business activities lit: drunk loan shark: one who loans money at high rates of interest looker: see doll lug: stupid person (by extension, â€Å"clumsy person†- often used affectionately and jocularly) mark: person targeted to be a victim of criminal activity marker: IOU, note acknowledging a debt mitt: hand muscle: force, or intimidate, or someone who forces or intimidates mug: face nail: capture nick: steal nix: no, or say no to something on the carpet: situation in which a criminal is called on the carpet, or disciplined, by a leader (by extension, pertains to any similar event) on the lam: moving secretly to avoid arrest after committing a crime on the spot: targeted for assassination (by extension, pertaining to being held accountable for a failure or mistake) packing heat: armed with a gun patsy: person framed for a crime (by extension, â€Å"fool†) paw: hand piece: share of the proceeds from criminal activity (see action), or a gun pig: police officer pinch: arrest pop: see bump/â€Å"bump off† punk: see goon (originally, a submissive homosexual) put the screws on: see grill queer: counterfeit rap: criminal charge rat: give information about associates’ criminal activities to law-enforcement personnel, or someone who does so ringer: fake rub out: see bump/â€Å"bump off† rube: easy victim sap: stupid person score: succeed in obtaining stolen money or goods scram: see blow scratch: money sing: see rat (verb) skip out: leave without paying skirt: woman slug: punch, or knock unconscious, or a bullet snatch: kidnap sock: punch spill: see rat (verb), or talk (verb) square: honest stiff: corpse sting: see con (by extension, â€Å"a law-enforcement operation to prompt and observe criminal behavior†) stir: jail stir-crazy: mentally disturbed because of incarceration stool pigeon/stoolie: see rat (noun) straighten out: resolve a dispute string along: deceive sucker: see rube swag: stolen goods (by extension, â€Å"gifts offered to promote through publicity†) tag: designation (by extension, â€Å"graffiti signature†) tail: track a criminal’s activities, or a law-enforcement official who does so take: share of profits from criminal activity take a powder: leave take (someone) for a ride: see bump/â€Å"bump off† take the fall: be targeted for blame for a crime tighten the screws: pressure trap: see kisser two bits: twenty-five cents vendetta: vow of vengeance (by extension, â€Å"a passionate, sustained effort to avenge oneself or one’s family or group†) yap: see kisser Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? 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