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This is so far all the swing slang that i have comprised
from the internet and other sources if you have some favorite swing slang
send it along to me.
Alderman:
A man's pot belly.
Ameche:
Telephone
Ankle
:Woman
Babe: Woman
Baby:
A person, can be said to either a man or a woman
Bangtails:
Racehorses
Barber:
Talk
Baumes
rush: Senator Caleb H. Baumes sponsored a New York law (the Baumes Law)
which
called
for automatic life imprisonment of any criminal convicted more than three
times. Some
criminals
would move to a state that didn't have this law in order to avoid its penalty
should they be
caught
again, and this was known as a "Baumes rush," because of the similarity
to "bum's rush."
Be on
the nut, To: To be broke
Bean-shooter:
Gun
Beezer:
Nose
Behind
the eight-ball: In a difficult position, in a tight spot
Bent cars:
Stolen cars
Berries:
Dollars
Big house:
Jail
Big one,
The: Death
Big sleep,
The: Death (coined by Chandler)
Bim: Woman
Bindle
of heroin: Little folded-up piece of paper (with heroin inside)
the bundle (or "brindle") in which a hobo carries all his worldy possessions
Bindle
punk, Bindle stiff: Chronic wanderers; itinerant misfits, criminals, migratory
harvest
workers,
and lumber jacks. Called so because they carried a "bindle." George and
Lenny in Of Mice
and Men
are bindle stiffs.
Bing:
Jailhouse talk for solitary confinement, hence "crazy"
Bird:
Man
Bit: Prison
sentence
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: A
safe
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
Broderick,
The: A thorough beating
Bruno:
Tough guy, enforcer
Bucket:
Car
Bulge,
as in "The kid had the bulge there": The advantage
Bulls:
Plainclothes railroad cops; uniformed police; prison guards
Bum's
rush, To get the: To be kicked out
Bump:
Kill
Bump gums:
To talk about nothing worthwhile
Bump off:
Kill; also, bump-off: a killing
Buncoing
some (people): Defrauding people
Bunk:
"Take a bunk" - leave, disappear
"That's the bunk" - that's false, untrue
"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 (see reference)
Button:
Face, nose, end of jaw
Button
man: Professional killer
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: $100,
a pair of Cs = $200
Cabbage:
Money
Caboose:
Jail (from "calaboose," which derives from calabozo, the Spanish word for
"jail")
Call copper:
Inform the police
Can:
Jail
Car
Can house:
Bordello
Can-opener:
Safecracker who opens cheap safes
Canary:
Woman singer
Case dough:
"Nest egg ... the theoretically untouchable reserve for emergencies" (Speaking)
Cat: Man
Century:
$100
Cheaters:
Sunglasses
Cheese
it: Put things away, hide
Chew:
Eat
Chicago
lightning: gunfire
Chicago
overcoat: Coffin
Chick:
Woman
Chilled
off: Killed
Chin:
Conversation; chinning: talking
Chin music:
Punch on the jaw
Chinese
angle, as in "You're not trying to find a Chinese angle on it, are you?":
A strange or unusual
twist
or aspect to something
Chinese
squeeze: Grafting by skimming profits off the top
Chippy:
Woman of easy virtue
Chisel:
To swindle or cheat
Chiv,
chive: Knife, "a stabbing or cutting weapon" (Speaking)
Chopper
squad: Men with machine guns
Clammed:
Close-mouthed (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
(Partridge's),
but in Pick-Up a casino where the tables are fixed
Clipped:
Shot
Close
your head: Shut up
Clout:
Shoplifter
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.
Con: Confidence
game, swindle
Conk:
Head
Cool:
To knock out
Cooler:
Jail
Cop
Detective, even a private one
To win, as in a bet
Copped,
To be: Grabbed by the cops
Copper
Policeman
Time off for good behaviour
Corn:
Bourbon ("corn liquor")
Crab:
Figure out
Crate:
Car
Creep
joint: ?? Can mean a whorehouse where the girls are pickpockets, but that
doesn't fit in
Pick-Up
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
Dance:
To be hanged
Dangle:
Leave, get lost
Darb:
Something remarkable or superior
Dark meat:
Black person
Daylight,
as in "let the daylight in" or "fill him with daylight": Put a hole in,
by shooting or stabbing
Deck,
as in "deck of Luckies": Pack of cigarettes
Derrick:
Shoplifter
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)
Dinge:
Black person
Dingus:
Thing
Dip: Pickpocket
Dip the
bill: Have a drink
Dish:
Pretty woman
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,
dolly: Woman
Dope
Drugs, of any sort
Information
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
Drop a
dime: Make a phone call, sometimes meaning to the police to inform on someone
Droppers:
Hired killers
Drum:
Speakeasy
Dry-gulch:
Knock out, hit on head after ambushing
Ducat
Ticket
For hobos, a union card or card asking for alms
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:
Roadhouse, club; or, more generally, any place
Dust
Nothing, as in "Tinhorns are dust to me"
Leave, depart, as in "Let's dust"
A look, as in "Let's give it the dust"
Dust out:
Leave, depart
Dutch
As in "in dutch" - trouble
As in "A girl pulled the Dutch act" - committed suicide
As in "They don't make me happy neither. I get a bump once'n a while. Mostly
a Dutch." - ??
relates to the police (Art)
Eel juice:
liquor
Egg: Man
Eggs in
the coffee: Easy, a piece of cake, okay, all right
Elbow:
Policeman
A collar or an arrest. Someone being arrested will "have their elbows checked."
Electric
cure: Electrocution
Elephant
ears: Police
Fade: Go
away, get lost
Fakeloo
artist: Con man
Fin: $5
bill
Finder:
Finger man
Finger,
Put the finger on: Identify
Flat
Broke
As in "That's flat" - that's for sure
Flattie:
Flatfoot, cop
Flimflam(m):
Swindle
Flippers:
Hands
Flivver:
A Ford automobile
Flogger:
Overcoat
Flop:
Go to bed
As in "The racket's flopped" - fallen through, not worked out
Flophouse:
"A cheap transient hotel where a lot of men sleep in large rooms" (Speaking)
Fog: To
shoot
Frail:
Woman
Frau:
Wife
Fry: To
be electrocuted
From nothing,
as in "I know from nothing": I don't know anything
Gams: Legs
(especially a woman's)
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"
(Speaking)
Gee: Man
Geetus:
Money
Getaway
sticks: Legs (especially a woman's)
Giggle
juice: Liquor
Gin mill:
Bar
Gink:
Man
Girlie:
Woman
Give a/the
third: Interrogate (third degree)
Glad rags:
Fancy clothes
Glom
To steal
To see, to take a look
Glaum:
Steal
Go climb
up your thumb: Go away, get lost
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
Goog:
Black eye
Goon:
Thug
Goose:
Man
Gooseberry
lay: Stealing clothes from a clothesline (see reference)
Gowed-up:
On dope, high
Grab (a
little) air: Put your hands up
Graft:
Con jobs
Cut of the take
Grand:
$1000
Greasers:
Mexicans or Italians.
A hoodlum, thief or punk.
Grift:
As in "What's the grift?": What are you trying to pull?
Confidence game, swindle
Grifter:
Con man
Grilled:
Questioned
Gum:
As in "Don't ... gum every play I make": Gum up, interfere with
Opium
Gum-shoe:
Detective; also gumshoeing = detective work
Gun for:
Look for, be after
Guns:
Pickpockets
Hoodlums
Gunsel:
Gunman (Hammett invented this use)
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 (Farewell, 14)
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
Heeled:
Carrying a gun
High pillow:
Person at the top, in charge
Highbinders
Corrupt politician or functionary
Professional killer operating in the Chinese quarter of a city
Hinky:
Suspicious
Hitting
the pipe: Smoking opium
Hitting
on all eight: In good shape, going well (refers to eight cylinders in an
engine)
Hock shop:
Pawnshop
Hogs:
Engines
Hombre:
Man, fellow
Hooch:
Liquor
Hood:
Criminal
Hooker,
as in "a stiff hooker of whiskey": A drink of strong liquor
Hoosegow:
Jail
Hop:
Drugs, mostly morphine or derivatives like heroin
Bell-hop
Hop-head:
Drug addict, esp. heroin
Horn:
Telephone
Hot: Stolen
House
dick: House/hotel detective
House
peeper: House/hotel detective
Hype:
Shortchange artist
Ice : Diamonds
In stir:
In jail
Ing-bing,
as in to throw an: A fit
Iron:
A car
Jack: Money
Jake,
Jakeloo: Okay
Jam: Trouble,
as in "in a jam"
Jane:
A woman
Jasper:
A man (perhaps a hick)
Java:
Coffee
Jaw: Talk
Jerking
a nod: Nodding
Jingle-brained:
Addled
Jobbie:
Man
Joe: Coffee,
as in "a cup of joe"
Johns:
Police
Johnson
brother: Criminal
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
Jug: Jail
Jujus:
Marijuana cigarettes
Jump,
The: A hanging
Junkie:
Drug addict
K
Kale: Money
Keister,
keyster:
Suitcase
Safe, strongbox
Buttocks
Kick,
as in "I got no kick": I have nothing to complain about
Kick off:
Die
Kicking
the gong around: Taking opium
Kink in
the Konk: Headache
Kiss:
To punch
Kisser:
Mouth
Kitten:
Woman
Knock
off: Kill
Knockover:
Heist, theft
Lammed
off: Ran away, escaped
Large:
$1,000; twenty large would be $20,000
Law, the:
The police
Lay
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"
As in "I gave him the lay" - I told him where things stood (as in lay of
the of land)
Lead poisoning:
To be shot
Lettuce:
Folding money
Lid: Hat
Lip: (Criminal)
lawyer
Lit, To
be: To be drunk
Loogan:
Marlowe defines this as "a guy with a gun"
Looker:
Pretty woman
Look-out:
Outside man
Lousy
with: To have lots of
Lug
Bullet
Ear
Man ("You big lug!")
Lunger:
Someone with tuberculosis
Made: Recognized
Map: Face
Marbles:
Pearls
Mark:
Sucker, victim of swindle or fixed game
Mazuma:
Money
Meat,
as in "He's your meat": He's the subject of interest, there's your man
Meat wagon:
Ambulance
Mesca:
Marijuana
Mickey
Finn, take a
Take off, leave
A drink drugged with knock-out drops
Mill:
Typewriter
Mitt:
Hand
Mob: Gang
(not necessarily Mafia)
Moll:
Girlfriend
Monicker:
Name
Mouthpiece:
Lawyer
Mud-pipe:
Opium pipe
Mug: Face
Muggles:
Marijuana
Mugs:
Men (esp. dumb ones)
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:
Heroin, in some cases
Number:
A person, can be either a man or a woman
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, to be drunk
Oyster
fruit: Pearls
Pack: To
carry, esp. a gun
Palooka:
Man, probably a little stupid
Pan: Face
Paste:
Punch
Patsy:
Person who is set up; fool, chump
Paw: Hand
Peaching:
Informing
Pearl
diver: dish-washer
Peeper:
Detective
Pen: Penitentiary,
jail
Peterman:
Safecracker who uses nitroglycerin
Pigeon:
Stool-pigeon
Pill
Bullet
Cigarette
Pinch:
An arrest, capture
Pins:
Legs (especially a woman's)
Pipe:
See or notice
Pipe that:
Get that, listen to that
Pipes:
Throat
Pistol
pockets: ?? heels?
Pitching
woo: Making love (Turner)
Plant
(n) Someone on the scene but in hiding
(v) Bury
Plug:
Shoot
Plugs:
People
Poke
Bankroll, stake
Punch (as in "take a poke at")
Pooped:
Killed
Pop: Kill
Pro skirt:
Prostitute
Puffing:
Mugging
Pug: Pugilist,
boxer
Pump:
Heart
Pump metal:
Shoot bullets
Punk
Hood, thug
"A jailhouse sissy who is on the receiving end." (Also as a verb, as in
"to get punked.")
Puss:
Face
Put down:
Drink
Put the
screws on: Question, get tough with
Queer
Counterfeit
Sexually abnormal
As a verb, to ruin something or put it wrong ("queer this racket")
Rags: Clothes
Ranked:
Observed, watched, given the once-over
Rap
Criminal charge
Information, as in "He gave us the rap"
Hit
Rappers:
Fakes, set-ups
Rat: Inform
Rate:
To be good, to count for something
Rats and
mice: Dice, i.e. craps
Rattler:
Train
Red-light:
To eject from a car or 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"? (Knockover, 203)
Right:
Adjective indicating quality
Right
gee, Right guy: A good fellow
Ringers:
Fakes
Rod: Gun
Roscoe:
Gun
Roundheels
A fighter with a glass jaw
A woman of easy virtue
Rub-out:
A killing
Rube:
Bumpkin, easy mark
Rumble,
the: The news
Run-out,
To take the : Leave, escape
Sap
A dumb guy
A blackjack
Sap poison:
Getting hit with a sap
Savvy?:
Get me? understand?
Sawbuck:
$10 bill (a double sawbuck is a $20 bill)
Scatter,
as in "And don't bother to call your house peeper and send him up to the
scatter"
Saloon or speakeasy.
A hideout, a room or lodging
Schnozzle:
Nose
Scram
out: Leave
Scratch:
Money
Scratcher:
Forger
Screw
Leave, as in "Let's screw before anybody pops in"
Prison guard
Send over:
Send to jail
Shamus:
(Private) detective
Sharper:
A swindler or sneaky person
Shells:
Bullets
Shine
Black person
Moonshine, bootleg liquor
Shine
box: Bar for blacks
Shine
Indian: ?? (Knockover, 89)
Shiv:
Knife
Shylock:
Loanshark
Shyster:
Lawyer
Silk,
as in "all silk so far": All okay so far
Sing:
Confess, admit secrets
Sister:
Woman
Skate
around, as in "She skates around plenty": To be of easy virtue
Skid rogue:
A bum who can't be trusted
Skipout:
Leave a hotel without paying, or a person who does so
Skirt:
Woman
Slant,
Get a: Take a look
Sleuth:
Detective
Slug
As a noun, bullet
As a verb, to knock unconscious
Smell
from the barrel, Have a: Have a drink
Smoke:
A black person
Smoked:
Drunk
Snap a
cap: Shout
Snatch:
Kidnap
Sneak
Leave, get lost, as in "If you're not a waiter, sneak"
Type of burglary, as in as in "The hotel-sneak used to be my lay"
Sneeze:
Take
Snitch:
An informer, or, as a verb, to inform
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:
Nitroglycerine
Soup job:
To crack a safe using nitroglycerine
Spill:
Talk, inform; spill it = tell me
Spinach:
Money
Spitting:
Talking
Spondulix:
Money
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
Sting:
Culmination of a con game
Stool-pigeon:
Informer
Stoolie:
Stool-pigeon
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)
Swing:
Hang
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 ?? (Key, 86)
Throw
lead: Shoot bullets
Ticket:
P.I. license
Tiger
milk: Some sort of liquor
Tighten
the screws: Put pressure on somebody
Tin: Badge
Tip a
few: To have a few drinks
Tip your
mitt: Show your hand, reveal something
Tomato:
Pretty woman
Tooting
the wrong ringer: Asking the wrong person
Torcher:
Torch singer
Torpedoes:
Gunmen
Trap:
Mouth
Trigger
man: Man whose job is to use a gun
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.
Under glass:
In jail
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" or "I'm
down on my
uppers":
To be broke
Vag, as
in vag charge, vag law: Vagrancy
Vig, Vigorish
Excessive interest on a loanshark's loan
Advantage in odds created by a bookie or gambler to increase profit
Weak sister:
A push-over
Wear iron:
Carry a gun
Wheats,
as in "a stack of wheats": Pancakes
White
Good, okay, as in "white dick"
Gin ("a gallon of white")
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
Yap: Mouth
Yard:
$100
Yegg:
Safecracker who can only open cheap and easy safes
Zotzed: Killed
