GANGSTER SLANG:


"You dumb mug, get your mitts off the marbles before I stuff that mud-pipe
down your mush - and tell your moll to hand over the mazuma."

— Ameche: Telephone 
— Babe: Woman 
— Baby: A person, can be said to either a man or a woman 
— Bangtails: Racehorses 
— Barbering: Talking 
— Be on the nut, to: To be broke 
— Bean-shooter: Gun 
— Beezer: Nose 
— Bent cars: Stolen cars 
— Berries: Dollars 
— Big house: Jail 
— Big one, the: Death 
— Big sleep, the: Death 
— Bim: Woman 
— Bindle: 1. of heroin: Little folded-up piece of paper. 2. The bundle in
which a hobo carries all his worldy posessions. 
— Bindle punk: A hobo or derelict hired to do rough or unpleasant work.
(Could perhaps refer to a small time drug dealer as well.) 
— Bindle stiff: One who steals a hobo's bindle 
— Bing: Crazy ?? 
— Bird: Guy 
— Blip off: To kill 
— Blow: Leave 
— Blow one down: Kill someone 
— Blower: Telephone 
— Bo: Pal, buster, fellow, as in "Hey, bo" 
— Boiler: Car 
— Boob: Dumb guy 
— Boozehound: Drunkard 
— Bop: To kill 
— Box job: A safecracking 
— Brace (somebody): Grab, shake up 
— Bracelets: Handcuffs 
— Break it up: Stop that, quit the nonsense 
— Breeze: To leave, go. Also breeze off - get lost 
— Broad: Woman 
— Bucket: Car 
— Bulge, as in "The kid had the bulge there": The advantage 
— Bulls: Cops (perhaps plainclothes detectives) 
— Bump: Kill 
— Bump off: Kill; also, bump-off - a killing 
— Buncoing some (people): Defrauding some people 
— Bunk: 1. As in "That's the bunk" - that's false, untrue. 2. As in "to
bunk" - to sleep 
— Bunny, as in "Don't be a bunny": Don't be stupid. 
— Burn powder: Fire a gun 
— Bus: Big car 
— Butter and egg man: The money man, the man with the bankroll, a yokel
who comes to town to blow a big wad in nightclubs. 
— Button: Face, as in "a poke in the button" 
— Buttons: Police 
— Butts: Cigarettes 
— Buy a drink: To pour a drink 
— Buzz, as in "I'm in the dump an hour and the house copper gives me the
buzz": Looks me up, comes to my door 
— Buzzer: Policeman's badge 
— C, or C-note: $100, also a pair of C's = $200 
— Cabbage: Money 
— Caboose: Jail 
— Call copper: Inform the police 
— Can: Jail 
— Can-opener: Safecracker who forces open cheap safes 
— Case dough: "Nest egg ... the theoretically untouchable reserve for
emergencies" 
— Cat: Guy 
— Century: $100 
— Chew: Eat 
— Chicago overcoat: A coffin 
— Chick: Woman 
— Chilled off: Killed 
— Chin: A conversation; also chinning = talking 
— Chin music: A punch on the jaw 
— Chinese angle, as in "You're not trying to find a Chinese angle on it,
are you?": a strange twist (not that Chinese people are actually involved)
— Chippy: Woman of easy virtue 
— Chisel: To swindle or cheat 
— Chiv, chive: Knife, or other stabbing or cutting weapon 
— Chopper squad: Guys with machine guns 
— Clammed: Close-mouthed, as in clammed up 
— Clean sneak: An escape with no clues left behind 
— Clip joint: In some cases, a night-club where the prices are high and
the patrons are fleeced. Also, a casino where the tables are fixed 
— Clipped: Shot 
— Close your head: Shut up 
— Clubhouse: Police station 
— Coffee-and-doughnut, as in "These coffee-and-doughnut guns are ...":
Could come from "coffee and cakes," which refers to something cheap or of
little value. 
— Conk: Head 
— Cool, as in "He cooled me": To knock out 
— Cooler, the: Jail 
— Cop: 1. Detective, even a private one. 2. To win, as in a bet 
— Copped: Grabbed by the cops 
— Copper: 1. Policeman. 2. As in "All time served except his copper" 
— Corn: Bourbon (as in corn liquor) 
— Crab: Figure out 
— Crate: Car 
— Creep joint: ?? Can mean a whorehouse where the girls are pickpockets,
but that doesn't fit here 
— Croak: To kill 
— Croaker: Doctor 
— Crushed out: Escaped (from jail) 
— Cush: Money (a cushion, something to fall back on) 
— Cut down: Killed (esp shot?) 
— Daisy: None-too-masculine 
— Dame: Woman 
— Dangle: Leave, get lost 
— Darb: Something remarkable or superior 
— Deck, as in "deck of Luckies": Pack of cigarettes 
— Diapers, as in "Pin your diapers on": Clothes, get dressed 
— Dib: Share (of the proceeds) 
— Dick: Detective (usually qualified with "private" if not a policeman)
— Dingus: Thing 
— Dip: Pickpocket 
— Dip the bill: have a drink 
— Dive: A low-down, cheap sort of place 
— Dizzy with a dame, to be: To be deeply iin love with a woman 
— Do the dance: To be hanged 
— Dogs: Feet 
— Doll: Woman 
— Dope: 1. Drugs, of any sort. 2. Information. 3. As a verb, as in "I had
him doped as" - to have figured for 
— Dope fiend: Drug addict 
— Dope peddler: Drug dealer 
— Dormy: Dormant, quiet, as in "Why didn't you lie dormy in the place you
climbed to?" 
— Dough: Money 
— Drift: Go, leave 
— Drill: Shoot 
— Drink out of the same bottle, as in "We used to drink out of the same
bottle.": We were close friends 
— Droppers: Hired killers 
— Drum: Speakeasy 
— Dry-gulch: Knock out, hit on head after ambushing 
— Ducat: Ticket 
— Duck soup: Easy, a piece of cake 
— Dummerer: Somebody who pretends to be (deaf and?) dumb in order to
appear a more deserving beggar 
— Dump, as in "We did the dumps": Roadhouse, club; or, more generally,
any place 
— Dust: 1. Nothing, as in "Tinhorns are dust to me". 2. Leave, depart, as
in "Let's dust" . 3. A look, as in "Let's give it the dust" 
— Dust out: Leave, depart 
— Dutch: 1. As in "in dutch" - trouble. 2. As in "A girl pulled the Dutch
act" - committed suicide. 3. As in "They don't make me happy neither. I
get a bump once'n a while. Mostly a Dutch." - relates to the police 
— Egg: Fellow 
— Eggs in the coffee: Easy, a piece of cake, okay, all right 
— Elbows, as in "And there's no elbows tagging along": Police 
— Electric cure: Electrocution 
— Fade: Get lost 
— Fakeloo artist: Con man 
— Fin: $5 bill 
— Finder: Finger man 
— Finger, as in put the finger on: Identify 
— Flat: 1. Broke 2. As in "That's flat" - that's for sure 
— Flattie: Flatfoot, cop 
— Flimflamm: Swindle (Op, 23, 251) 
— Flippers: Hands? (Lake, 139) 
— Flivver: A Ford automobile 
— Flogger: Overcoat 
— Flop: 1. Go to bed. 2. As in "The racket's flopped" - fallen through,
not worked out 
— Fog: To shoot 
— Frail: Woman 
— Frau: Wife 
— From nothing, as in "I know from nothing": I don't know anything 
— Gashouse, as in "getting gashouse": Rough 
— Gasper: Cigarette 
— Gat: Gun 
— Gate, as in "Give her the gate": The door, as in leave 
— Gaycat: "A young punk who runs with an older tramp and there is always
a connotation of homosexuality" 
— Gee: Guy 
— Geetus: Money 
— Giggle juice: Liquor 
— Gin mill: Bar (speakeasy?) 
— Gink: Guy 
— Girlie: Woman 
— Give a third: Interrogate (third degree) 
— Glad rags: Fancy clothes 
— Glaum: Steal 
— Glomming: Stealing 
— Go climb up your thumb: Go fly a kite, go stick your thumb up your ass
— Go over the edge with the rams: To get far too drunk 
— Go to read and write: Rhyming slang for take flight 
— Gonif: Thief (Yiddish) 
— Goofy: Crazy 
— Goon: Thug 
— Goose: Guy 
— Gooseberry lay: Stealing clothes from a clothesline 
— Gowed-up: On dope, high 
— Grab (a little) air: Put your hands up 
— Graft, the: 1. Con jobs 2. Cut of the take 
— Grand: $1000 
— Grift, as in "What's the grift?": What are you trying to pull? 
— Grifter: Con man 
— Grilled: Questioned 
— Gum, as in "Don't ... gum every play I make": Gum up, interfere with 
— Gum-shoe: Detective, also gumshoeing = detective work 
— Gun for: Look for, be after 
— Guns: Hoodlums 
— Gunsel: 1. Gunman (Hammett invented this use). 2. Boy homosexual. 3a.
(p) A male oral sodomist, or passive pederast. b. A brat. c. (By
extension) An informer; a weasel; an unscrupulous person." 4. (Note)
Yiddish "ganzl" = gosling 
— Hack: Taxi 
— Half, a: 50 cents 
— Hammer and saws: Police (rhyming slang for laws) 
— Hard: Tough 
— Harlem sunset: Some sort fatal injury caused by knife 
— Hash house: A cheap restaurant 
— Hatchetmen: Killers, gunmen 
— Have the bees: To be rich 
— Have the curse on someone: Wanting to see someone killed 
— Head doctors: Psychiatrists 
— Heap: Car 
— Heat: A gun, also heater 
— High pillow: Person at the top, in charge 
— Highbinders: 1. Corrupt politician or functionary. 2. Professional
killer operating in the Chinese quarter of a city. 
— Hittin' the pipe: Smoking opium 
— Hitting on all eight: As in cylinders, in good shape, going well 
— Hock shop: Pawnshop 
— Hogs: Engines 
— Hombre: Man, fellow 
— Hooch: Liquor 
— Hood: Criminal 
— Hooker, as in "It took a stiff hooker of whiskey": A drink of strong
liquor 
— Hoosegow: Jail 
— Hop: 1. Drugs, mostly morphine or derivatives like heroin. 2. Bell-hop
(Lake, 73) 
— Hop-head: Drug addict, esp. heroin 
— Horn: Telephone 
— Hot: Stolen 
— House dick: House detective 
— House peeper: House detective 
— Ice: Diamonds 
— In stir: In jail 
— Ing-bing, as in to throw an: A fit 
— Iron: A car 
— Jack: Money 
— Jake: Okay 
— Jakeloo: Okay 
— Jam: Trouble, as in "in a jam" 
— Jasper: A man (of a certain type?) 
— Java: Coffee 
— Jaw: Talk 
— Jerking a nod: Nodding 
— Jingle-brained: Addled 
— Jobbie: Guy 
— Joe: Coffee, as in "a cup of joe" 
— Johns: Police 
— Joint: Place, as in "my joint" 
— Jorum of skee: Shot of liquor 
— Joss house: Temple or house of worship for a Chinese religion 
— Juice: Interest on a loanshark's loan 
— Jujus: Marijuana cigarettes 
— Jump, the: A hanging 
— Kale: Money 
— Keister: Suitcase, also spelt keyster (Also means buttocks or
safe/strongbox) 
— Kick, as in "I got no kick": I have nothing to complain about 
— Kick off: Die 
— Kisser: Mouth 
— Knock off: Kill 
— Knockover: Heist, theft 
— Lammed off: Ran away, escaped 
— Large: $1,000, as in "twenty large" 
— Law, the: The police 
— Lay: 1. Job, as in Marlowe saying he's on "a confidential lay" ; or
more generally, what someone does, as in "The hotel-sneak used to be my
lay" 2. As in "I gave him the lay" - I told him where things stood (as in
lay of the of land) 
— Lettuce: Folding money 
— Lit, to be: To be drunk 
— Loogan: Marlowe defines this as "a guy with a gun" 
— Look-out: Outside man 
— Lousy with: To have lots of 
— Lug: 1. Dumb Guy. 2. Bullet 3. Ear. 
— Made: Recognized 
— Map: Face 
— Marbles: Pearls 
— Mazuma: Money 
— Meat, as in "He's your meat": There's your man, in this case, there's
the guy you'll follow 
— Meat wagon: Ambulance 
— Mesca: Marijuana 
— Mickey Finn, take a: 1. Take off, leave. 2. A drink drugged with
knock-out drops. 
— Mill: Typewriter 
— Mitt: Hand 
— Mob: Gang (not Mafia) 
— Moll: Girlfriend 
— Monicker: Name 
— Mouthpiece: Lawyer 
— Mud-pipe: Opium pipe 
— Mug: Face 
— Mugs: Guys (esp. dumb) 
— Mush: Face 
— Nailed: Caught by the police 
— Nance: An effeminate man 
— Nevada gas: Cyanide 
— Newshawk: Reporter 
— Newsie: Newspaper vendor 
— Nibble one: To have a drink 
— Nicked: Stole 
— Nippers: Handcuffs 
— Nix on (something): No to (something) 
— Noodle: Head 
— Nose-candy: Cocaine, Heroin in some cases 
— Number: 1.A person, can be either a man or a woman. 2. To work someone
over, as in "you really did a number on that guy." 
— Off the track, as in "He was too far off the track. Strictly section
eight": Said about a man who becomes insanely violent 
— Op: Detective (esp. private), from "operative" 
— Orphan paper: Bad cheques 
— Out on the roof, to be: To drink a lot 
— Oyster fruit: Pearls 
— Pack: To carry, esp. a gun 
— Palooka: Guy, probably a little stupid 
— Pan: Face 
— Paste: Punch 
— Paw: Hand 
— Peaching: Informing 
— Peeper: Detective 
— Pen: Jail, penitentiary 
— Peterman: Safecracker who uses nitroglycerin 
— Pigeon: see Stool-pigeon 
— Pill: 1. Bullet. 2. Cigarette 
— Pinch: An arrest, capture 
— Pipe: See or notice 
— Pipe that: Get that, listen to that 
— Pipes: Throat 
— Pistol pockets: ?? heels? 
— Pitching woo: Making love 
— Plant: Someone on the scene but in hiding 
— Plugs: People 
— Pooped: Killed 
— Pop: Kill 
— Pro skirt: Prostitute 
— Puffing: Mugging 
— Pug: Boxer 
— Pump: Heart 
— Pump metal: Shoot bullets 
— Punk: Hood, thug 
— Puss: Face 
— Put down: Drink 
— Put the screws on: Question, get tough with 
— Queer: 1. Counterfeit. 2. Sexually abnormal 
— Rags: Clothes 
— Ranked: Observed, watched, given the once-over. 
— Rap: 1. Criminal charge. 2. Information, as in "He gave us the rap". 3.
Hit 
— Rappers, as in "There were a couple solved for the record, but they
were just rappers": Fakes, set-ups 
— Rat: Inform 
— Rate: To be good, to count for something 
— Rats and mice: Dice, i.e. craps 
— Rattler: Train 
— Redhot: Some sort of criminal 
— Reefers: Marijuana cigarettes 
— Rhino: Money 
— Ribbed up, as in "I got a Chink ribbed up to get the dope": Set up,
arranged for? "I have arranged for a Chinese person to get the
information"? 
— Right: Adjective indicating quality 
— Right gee: A good fellow 
— Right guy: A good fellow 
— Ringers: Fakes 
— Rod: Gun 
— Roscoe: Gun 
— Rub-out: A death 
— Rube: Bumpkin, easy mark 
— Rumble, the: The news 
— Run-out, as in to take the: Leave, escape 
— Sap: 1. A dumb guy. 2. A blackjack 
— Sap poison: Getting hit with a sap 
— Savvy?: Get me? understand? 
— Sawbuck: $10 
— Scatter, as in "And don't bother to call your house peeper and send him
up to the scatter": 1. Saloon or speakeasy. 2. A hideout, a room or
lodging. 
— Schnozzle: Nose 
— Scram out: Leave 
— Scratch: Money 
— Scratcher: Forger 
— Screw: 1. Leave, as in "Let's screw before anybody pops in" 2. Prison
guard. 
— Send over: Send to jail 
— Shamus: (Private) detective 
— Sharper: A swindler or sneaky person 
— Shatting on your uppers: To be broke 
— Shells: Bullets 
— Shine: 2. Bootleg whiskey. 
— Shiv: Knife 
— Shylock: Loanshark 
— Shyster: Lawyer 
— Silk, as in "all silk so far": All okay so far 
— Sister: Woman 
— Skate around, as in "She skates around plenty": To be of easy virtue 
— Skipout: Leave a hotel without paying, or a person who does so 
— Skirt: Woman 
— Slant, get a: Take a look 
— Sleuth: Detective 
— Slug: 1. As a noun, bullet 2. As a verb, to knock unconscious. 
— Smell from the barrel, have a: Have a drink 
— Smoked: Drunk 
— Snap a cap: Shout 
— Snatch: Kidnap 
— Sneak: 1. Leave, get lost, as in "If you're not a waiter, sneak" 2.
Type of burglary, as in as in "The hotel-sneak used to be my lay" 
— Sneeze: Take 
— Snooper: Detective 
— Snort (as in of gin): A drink 
— Snow-bird: (Cocaine) addict 
— Snowed: To be on drugs (heroin? cocaine?); also snowed up 
— Soak: To pawn 
— Sock: Punch 
— Soup job: To crack a safe using nitroglycerine 
— Souping the kidneys: ?? driving fast? 
— Spill: Talk, inform. spill it = tell me 
— Spinach: Money 
— Spitting: Talking 
— Square: Honest, "on the square" = telling the truth 
— Squirt metal: Shoot bullets 
— Step off: To be hanged 
— Sticks of tea: Marijuana cigarettes 
— Stiff: A corpse 
— Stool-pigeon or Stoolie: Informer 
— Stringin': As in along, feeding someone a story 
— Sucker: Someone ripe for a grifter's scam 
— Sugar: Money 
— Swift, to have plenty of: To be fast (on the draw) 
— Tail: Shadow, follow 
— Take a powder: Leave 
— Take it on the heel and toe: Leave 
— Take on: Eat 
— Take the air: Leave 
— Take the bounce: To get kicked out (here, of a hotel) 
— Take the fall for: Accept punishment for 
— Tea: Marijuana 
— That's the crop: That's all of it 
— Three-spot: Three-year term in jail 
— Throw a joe: Pass out ?? 
— Throw lead: Shoot bullets 
— Ticket: P.I. license 
— Tiger milk: Some sort of liquor 
— Tighten the screws: Put pressure on somebody 
— Tip a few: To have a few drinks 
— Tip your mitt: Show your hand, reveal something 
— Tooting the wrong ringer: Asking the wrong person 
— Torcher: Torch singer 
— Torpedoes: Gunmen 
— Trap: Mouth 
— Trigger man: Guy who does the shooting on a job 
— Trip for biscuits, as in "You get there fast and you get there alone -
or you got a trip for biscuits": Make the trip for no purpose, achieve no
results 
— Trouble boys: Gangsters 
— Turn up: To turn in (to the police) 
— Twist: Woman 
— Two bits: $25, or 25 cents. 
— Up-and-down, as in "to give something the up-and-down": A look 
— Uppers, as in "I've been shatting on my uppers for a couple of months
now": Broke 
— Vag, as in vag charge, vag law: Vagrancy 
— Vig, Vigorish: Interest on a loanshark's loan 
— Weak sister: A push-over 
— Wear iron: Carry a gun 
— Wheats, as in "a stack of wheats": Pancakes 
— White: 1. Good, okay, as in "white dick". 2. As in a gallon of - gin 
— Wikiup: Home 
— Wire, as in "What's the wire on them?": News, "What information do you
have about them?" 
— Wise, to be: To be knowledgeable of, "put us wise" - tell us 
— Wise head: A smart person 
— Wooden kimono: A coffin 
— Worker, as in "She sizes up as a worker": A woman who takes a guy for
his money 
— Wrong gee: Not a good fellow 
— Wrong number: Not a good fellow 
— Yank: ?? tough situation? 
— Yap: Mouth 
— Yard: $100 
— Yegg: Safecracker, "who can only open a rather cheap and vulnerable
safe" 
— Zotzed: Killed 

Copyright  1998-99 by Razvod Ltd. All rights reserved. Authors: Andrei
Pavlov, Sergei Nossoff. 

Используются технологии uCoz