_New-York, 1859._
VOCABULUM;
OR,
THE ROGUE'S LEXICON.
A
ABRAHAM. To sham; to pretend sickness.
ABRAHAM COVE. A naked or poor man; a beggar in rags.
ACADEMY. A penitentiary, or prison for minor offenses.
ACCOUNTS. To cast accounts; to vomit.
ACE OF SPADES. A widow.
ACKRUFFS. River-thieves; river-pirates.
ACORN. A gallows.
ACTEON. A cuckold.
ACTIVE CITIZEN. A louse.
ADAM. An accomplice; a pal.
ADAM-TILER. A fellow whose business it is to receive the plunder from
the "File"--the one who picked the pocket--and get away with it.
ADDLE-COVE. A foolish man.
AGOG. Anxious; impatient; all-agog.
AGOGARE. Anxious; eager; impatient; be quick.
AIR AND EXERCISE. To work in the stone quarry at Blackwell's Island or
at Sing Sing.
ALAMORT. Confounded; struck dumb; unable to say or do any thing.
ALBERT. A chain.
ALBONIZED. Whitened.
ALLS. The five alls. First, the monarch's motto, "I govern all." Second,
the bishop's motto, "I pray for all." Third, the lawyer's motto, "I
plead for all." Fourth, the soldier's motto, "I fight for all." Fifth,
the farmer's motto, "I pay for all."
ALTEMAL. All in a heap, without items; the sum total.
ALTITUDES. A state of drunkenness; being high.
AMBIDEXTER. One who befriends both sides; a lawyer who takes fees from
both parties in a suit.
AMERACE. Very near; don't go far; be within call.
AMPUTATE YOUR MAHOGANY or TIMBER. Be off quick; away with you.
AMUSE. To amuse; to invent plausible stories and thereby rob or cheat
unsuspecting persons.
AMUSERS. Fellows who carry snuff or pepper in their pockets, which they
throw into a person's eyes and then run away; the accomplice rushing up
to the victim, pretending to assist, robs him while suffering with pain.
ANGLERS. Small thieves who place a hook on the end of a stick, and
therewith steal from store-windows, doors, etc. It also applies to
fencemen; putters up, etc.
ANKLE. "A sprained ankle;" the mother of a child born out of wedlock.
ANODYNE. Death; to anodyne, to kill. "Ahr say, Bill, vy don't yer hopen
that jug and draw the cole?" "Vy, my cove, aren't you avare as how a
bloke snoses hin it?" "Vell, vot hof it, aren't yer habel to put him to
hanodyne?"
ANOINTED. Flogged.
APPLES AND PEARS. Stairs.
AQUA. Water.
ARCH-COVES. Chief of the gang or mob; headmen; governors; presidents.
ARCH-DUKE. A funny fellow.
ARCH-GONNOFF. The chief of a gang of thieves.
ARD. Hot.
ARK. A ship; a boat; a vessel.
ARTFUL DODGERS. Lodgers; fellows who dare not sleep twice in the same
place for fear of arrest.
ARTICLE. Man. "You're a pretty article." A term of contempt.
ARTICLES. A suit of clothes.
ARTIST. An adroit rogue.
ASSAY. Go on; commence; try it.
ATTLEBOROUGH. Not genuine; made to imitate. At the town of Attleborough
jewelry is manufactured from the baser metals, or so alloyed as to
deceive those who are not good judges of the genuine article.
AUTUM. A church.
AUTUM-BAWLER. A parson.
AUTUM-CACKLER. A married woman.
AUTUM-COVE. A married man.
AUTUM-DIVERS. Pickpockets who practise in churches.
AUTUM-JET. A parson.
AUTUMED. Married.
AWAKE. To know; to let know.
B
BABY PAPS. Caps.
BACONNING. A fat round face; a full pale face.
BADGER. A panel thief; a fellow who robs a man's pocket after he has
been enticed into bed with a woman; to torment.
BAG OF NAILS. Every thing in confusion.
BAGGED. Imprisoned.
BALL. Prison allowance.
BALLUM-RANCUM. A ball where all the dancers are thieves and prostitutes.
BALSAM. Money.
BAM. A lie; to bamboozle; humbug.
BANDERO. A widow's weeds.
BANDOG. A civil officer.
BANGUP. The best; very fine; height of the fashion.
BAPTIZED. Liquor that has been watered.
BARDY. A sixpence.
BARKER. One who patrols the streets for customers in front of his
employer's shop; vide Chatham street.
BARKING. Shooting.
BARKING-IRONS. Pistols.
BARNACLES. A good booty; a pair of spectacles; hand-cuffs.
BARREL FEVER. Delirium tremens.
BASTER. A house-thief.
BAT. A prostitute who walks the streets only at night.
BAZAAR. A counter.
BEAK. A magistrate; a judge.
BEAKQUERE. A sharp, strict magistrate who is attentive to his duty.
BEANS. Five-dollar gold-pieces.
BEAT. Get the best of him; "Beat the flat;" rob the man.
BEATER-CASES. }
BEATERS. } Boots.
BEAU-TRAPS. Well-dressed sharpers; fortune-hunters.
BELCHER TIE. A flashy neckerchief.
BEN. A vest.
BENDER. A spree; a drunken frolic.
BENE. Good; first rate.
BENE-BOUSE. Good drink.
BENE-COVE. A good man.
BENE-CULL. A good fellow.
BENE-DARKMAN. Good night.
BENEN-COVE. A better man.
BENFLAKE. A cheap beef-steak.
BENISON. A blessing.
BENJAMIN. A coat.
BENS. Fools.
BESS. A pick of a very simple construction.