Vocabulum, Or, The Rogue's Lexicon: Compiled from the Most Authentic SourcesReprint of first and only edition. Originally publsihed: New York: Published by George W. Matsell & Co., [1859]. vi, 130 pp. * As New York City's Chief of Police and an owner of the National Police Gazette Matsell [1811-1877] had an abiding interest in criminal speechways. Although Matsell compiled this dictionary for his colleagues in law enforcement, he recognized its value to the linguist. As he notes in the preface, criminal terms were beginning to enter general usage and appeared regularly in newspapers, court reports and other publications. Matsell's compilation includes such entries as "acorn" (a gallows), "hemp the flat" (choke a fool), "rumbo" (a prison) and "tyburn blossom" (a young thief). The appendix contains samples of criminal speech and writing (with translations) and the vocabularies of gamblers, billiard players, pugilists and stock brokers. Published just before the Civil War, this dictionary offers a fascinating glimpse into the American underworld in the first half of the nineteenth century. |
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Vocabulum; Or, The Rogue's Lexicon. Comp. From the Most Authentic Sources George Washington Matsell No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
Arrested bad money ball bank BEAK beat Bell Bill bloke blow blowen burglar called cards cheat chips clothes COLD DECK copper cops cove crib cull DEAD devil dice dollars door drink drunk eyes face false FLASH flat flog fool frisked gamblers garroting girl give gold hand hanged head highwaymen Hitch hock horse humbug hundred stretches hence inform Jack Jack Ketch jigger Johnny Miller joskin kiddy kill KINCHIN knuck lathy Liquor look lush man's MILLING COVE mistress mouth National Police Gazette New-York nose officer party patter pawnbroker person pick picker-up picklock pickpocket PINNIPE play player player's ball plunder pocket pocket-book police portmanteau pretends prison prostitute pugilist purse QUEER rogue skin smart sometimes steal stolen sucker swag thief thieves thing ticket of leave trick Tyburn victim watch widow's weeds woman