A New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash Language by James Hardy Vaux (top ten books to read TXT) 📕

of glass.

 

SINGLE-HANDED: robbery by yourself, without a pall.

 

SIR SYDNEY: a clasp knife.

 

SKIN: a purse, or money bag.

 

SKIN: to strip a man of all his money at play, is termed skinning him.

 

SLANG. A watch chain, a chain of any kind; also a warrant, license to

travel, or other official instrument.

 

SLANG: to defraud a person of any part of his due, is called slanging

him; also to cheat by false weights or measures, or other unfair means.

 

SLANG WEIGHTS, or MEASURES: unjust, or defective ones.

 

SLANGING-DUES: ‘when a man suspects that he has been curtailed, or

cheated, of any portion of his just right, he will say, there has been

slanging-dues concerned.

 

SLANG’D: fettered.

 

SLANGS: fetters, or chains of any kind used about prisoners; body-slangs

are body-irons used on some occasions.

 

SLAVEY: a servant of either sex.

 

SLIP: the slash pocket in the skirt of a coat behind.

 

SLOP: tea.

 

SLOP-FEEDER: a tea-spoon.

 

SLOUR: to lock, secure, or fasten; to slour up is also to button up; as

one’s coat, pocket, etc.

 

SLOUR’D, or SLOUR’D UP: locked, fastened, buttoned, etc.

 

SLUM: a room.

 

SLUM. See RACKET and LODGING-SLUM.

 

SLY. Any business transacted, or intimation given, privately, or under

the rose, is said to be done upon the sly.

 

SMASHER: a man or woman who follows the game of smashing.

 

SMASHING: uttering counterfeit money; smashing of queer screens,

signifies uttering forged bank notes. To smash a guinea, note, or other

money, is, in a common sense, to procure, or give, change for it.

 

SMISH: a shirt.

 

SMUT: a copper boiler, or furance.

 

SNEAK: The sneak is the practice of robbing houses or shops, by slipping

in unperceived, and taking whatever may lay most convenient; this is

commonly the first branch of thieving, in which young boys are initiated,

who, from their size and activity, appear well adapted for it. To sneak a

place, is to rob it upon the sneak. A sneak is a robbery effected in the

above manner. One or more prisoners having escaped from their confinement

by stealth, without using any violence, or alarming their keepers, arc

said to have sneak’d ‘em, or given it to ‘em upon the sneak. See RUSH.

 

SNEAKSMAN: a man or boy who goes upon the sneak.

 

SNEEZER, or SNEEZING-COFER: a snuff-box.

 

SNITCH: to impeach, or betray your accomplices, is termed snitching upon

them. A person who becomes king’s evidence on such an occasion, is said

to have turned snitch; an informer, or talebearer, in general, is called

a snitch, or a snitching rascal, in which sense snitching is synonymous

with nosing, or coming it.

 

SNIPES: scissors.

 

SNIV: an expression synonymous with bender, and used in the same manner.

 

SNOW: clean linen from the washerwoman’s hands, whether it be wet or dry,

is termed snow.

 

SNOOZE: to sleep; a snooze sometimes means a lodging; as, Where can I get

a snooze for this darky instead of saying a bed.

 

SNUFFING: going into a shop on some pretence, watching an opportunity to

throw a handful of snuff in the eyes of the shopkeeper, and then running

off with any valuable article you can lay hands on; this is called

snuffing him, or giving it to him upon the snuff racket.

 

SOLD. See SELL.

 

SOUND: to sound a person, means generally to draw from him, in an artful

manner, any particulars you want to be acquainted with; as, to sound a

kid, porter, etc., is to pump out of him the purport of his errand, the

contents of his bundle, or load, etc., that your pall may know how to

accost him, in order to draw the swag. See DRAW and KID-RIG. To sound a

cly, is to touch a person’s pocket gently on the outside, in order to

ascertain the nature of its contents.

 

SPANGLE: a seven-shilling piece.

 

SPANK: to spank a glaze, is to break a pane of glass in a shop window,

and make a sudden snatch at some article of value within your reach,

having previously tied the shop-door with a strong cord on the outside,

so as to prevent the shopman from getting out, till you have had full

time to escape with your booty; to spank a place, is to rob it upon the

spank, a spank is a robbery effected by the above means.

 

SPEAK: committing any robbery; is called making a speak; and if it has

been productive, you are said to have made a rum speak.

 

SPEAK TO: to speak to a person or place is to rob them, and to speak to

any article, is to steal it; as, I spoke to the cove for his montra; I

robb’d the gentleman of his watch. I spoke to that crib for all the

wedge; I robb’d that house of all the plate. I spoke to a chest of slop;

I stole a chest of tea. A thief will say to his pall who has been

attempting any robbery, �Well, did you speak? or, have you spoke?�

meaning, did you get any thing?

 

SPELL: the play-house.

 

SPICE: the spice is the game of footpad robbery; describing an exploit of

this nature; a rogue will say, I spiced a swell of so much, naming the

booty obtained. A spice is a footpad robbery.

 

SPICE GLOAK: a footpad robber.

 

SPIN A YARN. See YARN.

 

SPLIT: to split upon a person, or turn split, is synonymous with nosing,

snitching, or turning nose. To split signifies generally to tell of any

thing you hear, or see transacted.

 

SPOIL IT: to throw some obstacle in the way of any project or

undertaking, so as to cause its failure, is termed spoiling it. In like

manner, to prevent another person from succeeding in his object, either

by a wilful obstruction, or by some act of imprudence on your part,

subjects you to the charge of having spoiled him. Speaking of some

particular species of fraud or robbery, which after a long series of

success, is now become stale or impracticable from the public being

guarded against it, the family will say, that game is spoiled at last. So

having attempted the robbery of any particular house or shop, and by

miscarrying caused such an alarm as to render a second attempt dangerous

or impolitic, they will say, that place is spoil’d, it is useless to try

it on any more.

 

SPOKE TO: alluding to any person or place that has been already robbed,

they say, that place, or person, has been spoke to before. A family man

on discovering that he has been robbed, will exclaim, I have been spoke

to, and perhaps will add, for such a thing, naming what he has lost.

Spoke to upon the screw, crack, sneak, hoist, buz, etc. etc., means

robbed upon either of those particular suits or games. Upon any great

misfortune befalling a man, as being apprehended on a very serious

charge, receiving a wound supposed to be mortal, etc., his friends will

say, Poor fellow, I believe he’s spoke to, meaning it is all over with

him.

 

SPOONY: foolish, half-witted, nonsensical; a man who has been drinking

till he becomes disgusting by his very ridiculous behaviour, is said to

be spoony drunk; and, from hence it is usual to call a very prating

shallow fellow, a rank spoon.

 

SPOUT: to pledge any property at a pawnbroker’s is termed spouting it, or

shoving it up the spout.

 

SPREAD: butter.

 

SPRING THE PLANT. See PLANT.

 

SQUARE: all fair, upright, and honest practices, are called the square,

in opposition to the cross. Any thing you have bought, or acquired

honestly, is termed a square article,. and any transaction which is

fairly and equitably conducted, is said to be a square concern. A

tradesman or other person who is considered by the world to be an honest

man, and who is unacquainted with family people, and their system of

operations, is by the latter emphatically styled a square cove, whereas

an old thief who has acquired an independence, and now confines himself

to square practices, is still called by his old palls a flash cove, who

has tyed up prigging. See GROSS and FLAT. In making a bargain or

contract, any overture considered to be really fair and reasonable, is

declared to be a square thing, or to be upon the square. To be upon the

square with any person, is to have mutually settled all accompts between

you both up to that moment. To threaten another that you will be upon the

square with him, some time, signifies that you’ll be even with him for

some supposed injury, etc.

 

SQUARE-COVE. See SQUARE.

 

SQUARE-CRIB: a respectable house, of good repute, whose inmates, their

mode of life and connexions, are all perfectly on the square. See

CROSS-CRIB.

 

SQUEEZE: the neck.

 

STAG: to turn stag was formerly synonymous with turning nose, or

snitching, but the phrase is now exploded.

 

STAG: to stag any object or person, is to look at, observe, or take

notice of them.

 

STAINES: a man who is in pecuniary distress is said to be at Staines, or

at the Bush, alluding to the Bush inn at that town. See BUSH’D.

 

STAKE: a booty acquired by robbery, or a sum of money won at play, is

called a stake, and if considerable, a prime stake, or a heavy stake. A

person alluding to any thing difficult to be procured, or which he

obtains as a great favour, and is therefore comparatively invaluable,

would say, I consider it a stake to get it at all; a valuable or

acceptable acquisition of any kind, is emphatically called a stake,

meaning a great prize.

 

STALL: a violent pressure in a crowd, made by pickpockets for the more

easily effecting their depredatory purposes; this is called making a rum

stall in the push.

 

STALL OFF: a term variously applied; generally it means a pretence,

excuse, or prevarication-as a person charged ‘with any fault, entering

into some plausible story, to excuse himself, his hearers or accusers

would say, O yes, that’s a good stall off, or, Aye, aye, stall it off

that way if you can. To extricate a person from any dilemma, or save him

from disgrace, is called stalling him off; as an accomplice of your’s

being detected in a robbery, etc., and about to be given up to justice,

you will step up as a stranger, interfere in his behalf, and either by

vouching for his innocence, recommending lenity, or some other artifice,

persuade his accusers to forego their intention, and let the prisoner

escape; you will then boast of having stalled him off in prime twig. To

avoid or escape any impending evil or punishment by means of artifice,

submission, bribe, or otherwise, is also called stalling it off. A man

walking the streets, and passing a particular shop, or encountering a

certain person, which or whom he has reasons for wishing to avoid, will

say to any friend who may be with him, I wish you’d stall me off from

that crib, (or from that cove, as the case may be) meaning, walk in such

a way as to cover or obscure me from notice, until we are past the shop

or person in question.

 

STALL UP: To stall a person up, (a term used by pickpockets,) is to

surround him in a crowd, or violent pressure, and even sometimes in the

open street, while walking along, and by violence force his arms up, and

keep them in that position while others of the gang rifle his pockets at

pleasure, the cove being unable to help or defend himself;