Savvy flash patter?
May 31, 2021 1:27 PM Subscribe
If shaps, kicksies and pickle-tubs make perfect sense to you, you don't need this link. Otherwise, The Rogue's Lexicon has you covered.
In 1840s New-York, knucks and dead rabbits palavered in flash to keep coppers bustled. George W Matsell, first Commissioner of the newly-formed Police Department, was frustrated by this secret code and started compiling a glossary for his officers so they could be fly to what was happening. In 1859 he published this lexicon, noting that flash incorporated old British thieves' cant but added words rooted in many languages, as befitted a city where "thieves ... from all parts of the world congregate". He also observed that flash was spreading among respectable people, so perhaps he hoped that swells flush with the ready would buy his book.
Today, a few words that Matsell considered incomprehensible enough to include in his glossary are still in use in casual English. When you "brag" that your "kids" are "OK", that's flash.
P.S. Two centuries later, The Tombs is still known as The Tombs.
In 1840s New-York, knucks and dead rabbits palavered in flash to keep coppers bustled. George W Matsell, first Commissioner of the newly-formed Police Department, was frustrated by this secret code and started compiling a glossary for his officers so they could be fly to what was happening. In 1859 he published this lexicon, noting that flash incorporated old British thieves' cant but added words rooted in many languages, as befitted a city where "thieves ... from all parts of the world congregate". He also observed that flash was spreading among respectable people, so perhaps he hoped that swells flush with the ready would buy his book.
Today, a few words that Matsell considered incomprehensible enough to include in his glossary are still in use in casual English. When you "brag" that your "kids" are "OK", that's flash.
P.S. Two centuries later, The Tombs is still known as The Tombs.
'A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words.' 1859.
"The dictionary included criminal slang, back slang, rhyming slang, and other types of slang. Its author, Hotten, included histories of some slangs (back slang and rhyming slang), a detailed bibliography, and a noted definition:..."
nice find.
posted by clavdivs at 1:59 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
"The dictionary included criminal slang, back slang, rhyming slang, and other types of slang. Its author, Hotten, included histories of some slangs (back slang and rhyming slang), a detailed bibliography, and a noted definition:..."
nice find.
posted by clavdivs at 1:59 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
See also:
“A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue”
By Sir Francis Grose
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/a-classical-dictionary-of-the-vulgar-tongue-1788
posted by librosegretti at 3:28 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
“A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue”
By Sir Francis Grose
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/a-classical-dictionary-of-the-vulgar-tongue-1788
posted by librosegretti at 3:28 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
So Urban Dictionary is A Modern Dictionary Of The Vultar Tongue, then?
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jokes are only funny if you spell them correctly.
posted by hippybear at 4:06 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:06 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Part of the function of traditional English Thieves' Cant was plausible deniability when under oath in court of law. Professional burglars hired accomplices for jobs in crowded pubs with eavesdropping informants hanging around. If arrested, they could convincingly swear under oath that they were talking a sort of nonsense.
There's a swell book for the curious: Thief-Taker Hangings: How Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Wild, and Jack Sheppard Captivated London and Created the Celebrity Criminal. It's about crime, law, and the origins of modern tabloid journalism in 18th century England.
Spoiler-ish for the less-curious: Jonathan Wild was the "Thief-Taker General": a crime-boss who worked with the Government in informing-on and apprehending his criminal rivals, and did very well at it until he finally made too many enemies.
posted by ovvl at 4:22 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
There's a swell book for the curious: Thief-Taker Hangings: How Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Wild, and Jack Sheppard Captivated London and Created the Celebrity Criminal. It's about crime, law, and the origins of modern tabloid journalism in 18th century England.
Spoiler-ish for the less-curious: Jonathan Wild was the "Thief-Taker General": a crime-boss who worked with the Government in informing-on and apprehending his criminal rivals, and did very well at it until he finally made too many enemies.
posted by ovvl at 4:22 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Ah, this is excellent. So many words, so many meanings. As Hugo said of argot in Les Miserables:
"This is the primitive foundation of all human language — what might be called the granite. Argot swarms with words of this kind, root-words, made out of whole cloth, we know not where nor by whom, without etymology, without analogy, without derivation, solitary, barbarous, sometimes hideous words, which have a singular power of expression, and which are all alive.
Argot, being the idiom of corruption, is easily corrupted. Moreover, as it always seeks disguise so soon as it perceives it is understood, it transforms itself. Unlike all other vegetation, every ray of light upon it kills what it touches. Thus argot goes on decomposed and recomposed incessantly; an obscure and rapid process which never ceases. It changes more in ten years than the language in ten centuries.
All the words of this language are perpetually in flight, like the men who use them."
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:32 PM on May 31, 2021 [7 favorites]
"This is the primitive foundation of all human language — what might be called the granite. Argot swarms with words of this kind, root-words, made out of whole cloth, we know not where nor by whom, without etymology, without analogy, without derivation, solitary, barbarous, sometimes hideous words, which have a singular power of expression, and which are all alive.
Argot, being the idiom of corruption, is easily corrupted. Moreover, as it always seeks disguise so soon as it perceives it is understood, it transforms itself. Unlike all other vegetation, every ray of light upon it kills what it touches. Thus argot goes on decomposed and recomposed incessantly; an obscure and rapid process which never ceases. It changes more in ten years than the language in ten centuries.
All the words of this language are perpetually in flight, like the men who use them."
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:32 PM on May 31, 2021 [7 favorites]
"It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide"
posted by librosegretti at 8:45 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by librosegretti at 8:45 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
back in ‘96, david mamet(!) filmed the stage show “ricky jay and his 52 assistants” for HBO. it was one of my most treasured VHS tapes for years. about 5 minutes in, ricky recites a crazy poem in canting language that still amazes me: “booze and the blowens cop the lot” .
posted by bruceo at 9:21 PM on May 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by bruceo at 9:21 PM on May 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Argot, being the idiom of corruption
Interestingly still used today. The Expanse,s4 , 'Jetsam'. The med bay area container housing from the ship has the logo 'argot' with a 5 leaf symbol above. A main part of the plot is the distrust between factions in and out of the ring.
posted by clavdivs at 9:49 PM on May 31, 2021
Interestingly still used today. The Expanse,s4 , 'Jetsam'. The med bay area container housing from the ship has the logo 'argot' with a 5 leaf symbol above. A main part of the plot is the distrust between factions in and out of the ring.
posted by clavdivs at 9:49 PM on May 31, 2021
Part of the function of traditional English Thieves' Cant was plausible deniability when under oath in court of law. c.f. a certain former President - wink wink nudge nudge.
There's 160 pages to the book. Seriously, 160 full pages or perfectly opaque argot. Made me wonder if lexicons like this were ever used in court.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:30 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
There's 160 pages to the book. Seriously, 160 full pages or perfectly opaque argot. Made me wonder if lexicons like this were ever used in court.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:30 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Don’t be sad hippybear, in pretty sure “The Vultar Tongue” appears in a Clark Ashton Smith story somewhere....
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:36 AM on June 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:36 AM on June 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
I was going to say I thought that was BRIAN BLESSED’S character in Flash Gordon, but that was Vultan, sadly.
In these pandemic times, I have plundering YouTube for back episodes of topical BBC panel shows. A glorious moment came when I found Blessed hosting an episode of Have I Got News For You from a decade and change ago. They were discussing some misstep or crisis that could potentially have proven fatal to the prime ministership of Gordon Brown, but the PM had avoided the worst consequences. Blessed looked up from his card and bellowed “GORDON IS ALIVE!”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:25 AM on June 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
In these pandemic times, I have plundering YouTube for back episodes of topical BBC panel shows. A glorious moment came when I found Blessed hosting an episode of Have I Got News For You from a decade and change ago. They were discussing some misstep or crisis that could potentially have proven fatal to the prime ministership of Gordon Brown, but the PM had avoided the worst consequences. Blessed looked up from his card and bellowed “GORDON IS ALIVE!”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:25 AM on June 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
a crazy poem in canting language that still amazes me: “booze and the blowens cop the lot”
If anyone's interested in finding out more about this poem, there's a whole chapter in Douglas Hofstadter's Le ton beau de Marot which discusses this poem, the original of which it's a translation, other translations of the original, and other translations of the translation, and the whole thing's just a delight.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:04 AM on June 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
If anyone's interested in finding out more about this poem, there's a whole chapter in Douglas Hofstadter's Le ton beau de Marot which discusses this poem, the original of which it's a translation, other translations of the original, and other translations of the translation, and the whole thing's just a delight.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:04 AM on June 1, 2021 [4 favorites]
Always a joy to play Chilanga Banda to Spanish learners at the office.
Written by Jaime Lopez, propelles to the stratosphere by Cafe Tacvba, it is a song in Mexico City argot, but using only words with the Spanish "ch" sound.
Now my turn to try to do figure out Booze and the Blowens Cop the Lot
posted by Dr. Curare at 8:30 AM on June 1, 2021
Written by Jaime Lopez, propelles to the stratosphere by Cafe Tacvba, it is a song in Mexico City argot, but using only words with the Spanish "ch" sound.
Now my turn to try to do figure out Booze and the Blowens Cop the Lot
posted by Dr. Curare at 8:30 AM on June 1, 2021
the stage show “ricky jay and his 52 assistants”
Thanks for sending me down this little rabbit hole. I'd forgotten that I wanted to celebrate Ricky Jay when he passed recently and this is a great opportunity to do so.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:29 AM on June 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
Thanks for sending me down this little rabbit hole. I'd forgotten that I wanted to celebrate Ricky Jay when he passed recently and this is a great opportunity to do so.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:29 AM on June 1, 2021 [2 favorites]
« Older "Only one thing was clear: There was no right way... | “She positioned herself as Cherokee" Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by chavenet at 1:57 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]