Tuberculosis or lung related ailment.Ī moll buzzer-A thief who robs women only.Ī nerver-A dead-head. N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W– X – Y – ZĪ bum steer-False information or direction.Ī bundle-Package from home a woman a roll of greenbacks.Ī cheap thief-One who steals from churches.Ī crimp-Runner for sailors’ boarding house.Ī fall guy-One who assumes blame to shield others.Ī flat joint worker-An assistant crooked gambler.Ī flat worker-One who steals from dwellings.Ī good fellow-Thief who spends freely and pays bills promptly.Ī green goods man-One who sells worthless securities or bogus money.Ī lunger-Consumptive. Protection provided by A Dictionary of 890 Slang Words and Terms used by Criminals and Underworld Figures from approximately 1890 to 1919.Ī – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M This page is copyright protected and MAY NOT be copied Check it out for yourself and don’t get nipped tanking the white mule while driving your sneeze wagon. Just completed and now posted on HCD is the Criminal Slang Dictionary of 890 words and phrases used by underworld figures from 1890 to 1919 (approximately).

They also had “rappers” back then, but it was slang for a civilian who informs to or files a complaint with law enforcement. In other words, his arithmetic would get him sent to jail. “Jail arithmetic” was a slang term ‘cooking the books’ by an accountant, bookkeeper, or bank employee who was embezzling money, and trying to cover it up.

If “she got jugged by a peeler, and thrown in the Irish club house,” it was slang for “she got arrested by an Irish cop and was taken to jail.” If she was “on the turf,” it meant she was a streetwalker. If someone wanted to buy some “happy dust,” it meant that he/she wanted to purchase cocaine.Īn inmate, pig, trader, hustler, and moll were all slang terms for prostitute. From approximately 1890 to 1919, that term meant they were going to blow-up a safe to rob it, and the person doing it was likely a yeggman, slang for safe robber. In 1910, if someone said they were “blowing the peter,” - it’s not what you’re thinking.

Pen thief definition