Thieves and Their Argot
| Author | W. F. Brown |
| Published date | 01 October 1931 |
| Date | 01 October 1931 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3100400403 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Thieves
and
their Argot
BY
SUPERINTENDENT
W.
F.
BROWN,
M.B.E.
T
is almost universally known that criminals constantly
I
resort to the use
of
argot when conversing together, either
privately or in public. There is, however, but a small per-
centage
of
the public, other than police officers and thieves,
who are conversant with the argot, and, as the following
will
clearly demonstrate, a conversation extending over
a
some-
what considerable period may be held by two thieves in the
hearing of a respectable citizen who would not be able to grasp
the subject-matter
of
such a conversation.
With a view to illustrate clearly the difficulty to be ex-
perienced in understanding a conversation in argot between
two thieves, the following dialogue may be quoted
:
George
:
'
Jack
is
about the worst screwsman in our push.
Last night he went to Golders Green, and after drumming the
gaff,
he screwed it with a stick.'
Metropolitan Police
Henry
:
'
Did he get any sparkle
?
'
George
:
'
Yes, a couple of kettles,
two
or three slangs, a lovely
groin and a prop.'
Henry
:
'
Has he fenced them
?
'
George
:
'
No.
He went up West, met a brass nob, and
took
her in a rub-a-dub. She told him she was a hoister, and had done
a bit of whizzing, but as she got a carpet and a stretch for whizzing,
she packed
it
up.'
Henry
:
'
Had Jack the sparkle with
him
during the time he
was with the brass nob
?
'
George
:
'
Yes, after he stood her a shant or
two
she took him
to a case. When they arrived there she gave him a bit of snow,
and later whilst he was kipping she nipped out and told a bogey
she
knew, that Jack was in the case with some sparkle on him.'
Henry
:
'
Did the busy lumber Jack
?
'
George
:
'
Yes, he got him banged to rights, lumbered him,
500
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