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Prison slang is an argot used primarily by criminals and detainees in correctional institutions. It is a form of anti-language.^[1] Many of the terms deal with criminal behavior, incarcerated life, legal cases, street life, and different types of inmates. Prison slang varies depending on institution, region, and country.^[2] Prison slang can be found in other written forms such as diaries, letters, tattoos, ballads, songs, and poems.^[2] Prison slang has existed as long as there have been crime and prisons; in Charles Dickens' time it was known as "thieves' cant". Words from prison slang often eventually migrate into common usage, such as "snitch", "ducking", and "narc". Terms can also lose meaning or become obsolete such as "slammer" and "bull-derm."^[2]

Examples

Prison slang, like other types of slang and dialects, varies by region. For that reason, the origins and the movement of prison slang across prisons are of interest to many linguists and cultural anthropologists.

Some prison slang are quite old. For example, "to cart", meaning to transfer to another prison, has been in use in Glasgow since 1733.^[1]

A two-year study was done by Bert Little, Ph.D. on American English slang with the main focus being in the coastal plain region of the Southeast U.S.^[3] His study published by The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of the Anthropological Linguistics journal goes on to provide an extensive glossary of common prison slang terms that he found circling through the prison systems.^[3] Studies by Alicja Dziedzic-Rawska from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Poland describe prison slang as "extremely rich and creative" with new words being formed on a daily basis. These are mainly used as a means of security against unauthorized parties receiving a certain message and, in some cases, can be a way to ensure a prison inmate's survival within the cells.^[4]

Australia

Term^[5]	Definition
Bang	A drug injection (other terms include 'fix', 'hit' or 'shot').
The boneyard	Protective custody
Booshwa/fit	Syringe
Bupe/subbie	Buprenorphine/subutex
Can	A can of soft drink used as a commodity
Cellie	Cellmate
Chief	The title prisoners are expected to use to address prison officers
Cockatoo	An inmate tasked with alerting other inmates that prison officers are approaching
Crim	Criminal/inmate
Dog	An informant
Greens	Prison clothing
Laggon	Prison sentence
The pound	Solitary confinement
Red light	'Red light' is the code-word used by inmates to warn that prison officers are approaching
Rock spider	Child sex offender
Screw	Pejorative term for prison officer
Scrim	Pejorative term for inmates who work in clerical positions within the prison. Portmanteau of 'Screw' and 'Crim'.
Segro	Segregation wing
Shiv	Makeshift stabbing weapon
Spinner	An inmate acting strangely, highly associated with mental health issues
Sweeper	An inmate paid by the prison to do domestic duties
Tea leaf	Rhyming slang for Petty thief
Turtles	The Squad. Specially trained and heavily equipped prison officers tasked with searching cells and riot control
Uncle Bully	An inmate convicted of child sex offences; a reference to a character from the film Once Were Warriors.

United Kingdom

Term	Definition
Chokey	Category A prison
Bacon/Bacon Bonce	Nonce (sex offender)
Block/Box	Solitary confinement
Lifer	A prisoner serving a life sentence
Nick	Prison
Nerk/nirk	Stupid/unpleasant person/inmate
Nicker	Prison Chaplain
Nonce	A person in prison for offences against children. Origin of the word is disputed, however, originally applied to any segregated prisoner.
Pompey	Northern England slang for a prison,^[6] possibly originating from a notorious prison ship named HMS Pompee, that was anchored in Portsmouth Harbour in the early nineteenth century.
Porridge	One time main meal (alleged) used as term for doing a prison sentence. Popularised by the popular BBC series Porridge – which in turn popularized many prison slang words. The term 'Stir' also meaning time spent inside, is a derivation from the term Porridge.
Screw	Prison Officer – probably originating from a Victorian form of punishment involving a wheel to be turned on which a screw could be turned to make it more or less difficult. Possibly also from the pattern of walking to the end of a row of cells, turning, and walking back, constantly rotating like a screw
Slop out	Time reserved for prisoners to clean out human waste accumulated during lock up times
Snout/burner	A cigarette. Snout generally refers to tobacco or cigarettes when used as currency within prison.
Squealer, Rat, Grass	An informant
Stir	Serving a sentence (literally 'prison' in "in stir" or "doing stir")
Shank	An improvised stabbing weapon

United States^[7]

Term^[3]	Definition
Bagman^[8]	In organized crime, one who is charged with "collecting or distributing the money involved".
Bang^[9]	A drug injection (other terms include 'fix', 'hit' or 'shot')
Bones	Dominoes
Bonzo	A known child predator who is forced into sexual slavery to a stronger inmate for protection from other sexually violent inmates.
Books	Inmate cash account
Bitch	An institutionally taboo epithet suggesting an inmate's femininity, helplessness and sexual submissiveness; alternately, any female
Bunk restriction	A form of inmate-imposed punishment entailing an inmate remaining in their bunk except to use the bathroom or receive meals
Bunk warrior	An inmate who attempts to intimidate or upset other inmates but will not fight them
Burned	A state of defeat and exhaustion of possible appeals, used similar to "screwed"
Cheeto	An openly homosexual or transgender inmate
Chicano	Chicano, feminine form Chicana, identifier for people of Mexican descent born in the United States.
Chicken	Money/cigarette
Chief	Native American inmate
Chit-chat	Inmate-directed corporal punishment
Cho-Mo	Inmate incarcerated for child molestation
C.O./D.O.	Correctional Officer/Detention Officer
Fish	A new or inexperienced inmate
Gassing^[10]	Throwing feces or other bodily fluids at a prison staff member or other inmate
Hack	A prison guard or official
The Hole	A separate, isolated unit with reduced privileges (such as payphones, television, games); alternately, solitary confinement
Iced	A term for killing another inmate or prison guard
Institutional 9	A Correctional Officer, visitor or prison employee inmates find attractive, due solely to extended confinement from other candidates
Items	A standard denominational currency (esp. in low and medium security institutions), often a snack bought from the prison commissary at the median price of snacks (eg, $1 snacks)
Jacket	A prisoner's central file
Jailhouse lawyer	An inmate who provides legal advice, possibly unqualified or specious, often reassuring another inmate of their positive prospects in the criminal justice process, or an inmate who represents themselves
J-Cat	A disruptive inmate who causes disorder through highly irregular behavior in a jail module or prison yard, typically associated with those with drug or mental health issues.
Keys	As in, "Holds the keys;" the inmate with the highest tenure responsible for administration of the whole pod's gang
Kinfolk	A Black American inmate; also, "kin"
Longjohn	A person who is not incarcerated and is having sexual relations with an inmate's wife
O.G.	An older inmate
Paisà	An inmate with Italian origins. Paisà is a dialectal and regional word, used especially in South Italy, corresponding to standard Italian paesano, or compaesano, which means 'from the same village' or ‘from the same land’.
P.C.	Protective custody
Peckerwood	Derogatory term for a white inmate (also "Wood," "Woodpecker")
Punk	A weaker inmate forced into sexual slavery to a stronger one for protection from other sexually violent inmates; otherwise a compulsively annoying inmate
Rat	An Informant (an inmate who informs prison officials of any illicit activity within the prison system including prisoners and guards), also "snitch"
Rank	An inmate's position based on prior and/or current tenure in the prison system
Seg	A term meaning solitary confinement (from the official term "administrative segregation")
Shank/Shiv	An improvised stabbing weapon
Shot out	An inmate recovering from opiate withdrawal
Slop	An institutionally prepared entrée consisting of bland or poorly prepared vegetables
Spread	An improvised combination of several commissary items into a single meal split among contributing inmates; also goulash, gumbo, soup
Take Flight	To initiate a fight with or jump another inmate
Toad	A derogatory term for a black inmate
Torpedo	An inmate volunteer selected by a gang leader to corporally punish an inmate who violates inmate rules
The Wall, Thunderdome, El Baño	An area where inmates fight or are subject to internally imposed corporal punishment, usually away from surveillance cameras or correctional officers (eg, bathrooms)

Zimbabwe

Term^[11]	Definition
Base	Mattress
Bomb	Explosive or banned commodities
Boma	Prison
Bongirlfaya	Translates to the word "wildcat," means "peeping" (in reference to a cat's vision and sly behavior)
Cash	Money/bathing soap (due to soap being a commodity)
Chitima	Translates to the word "train," means "inmates who water the garden in a 'line' form"
Chikepe	Translates to the words "boat" or "ship," means "escaping from prison" (an allusion to a lonely ship smoothly sailing in a large sea)
Chikopokopo	Translates to the word "helicopter," means "tractor" (an allusion to a tractor's noise in a quiet environment)
Chibhonda	A person who was homeless or living on the streets before they arrived to prison
Chibhengebhenge	Translates to "useless person," means "noise" (an idiophone of a person's unproductive speech)
Dambarefu	Translates to "long play," means "a life sentence or a sentence that is ten years or longer" (in reference to the Long Play Record)
Dzokufa	Translates to "beans," means "the dead ones" (in reference to dried beans)
Gavhunga	Roughly cut green vegetables
Gumbakumba	Translates to "UD Nissan truck used to transport prisoners," means "collect" or "grab" (in reference to the Shona idiom that a person or animal that is not picky collects anything and everything)
Gozhla	Groceries
Ginyabvu	Translates to "an inmate charged with rape," means "to force" or "forcefully take"
Getsi getsi pascreen	Translates to "opening statement when someone is telling a story or movie," means "power" or "light on the screen"
Jega mudhuri	Translates to "leaning on the wall when the officers are counting prisoners in the cells," means "to carry the wall"
Kaza	Car
Kule	A respectful way of saying "grandfather" or "uncle"
Kudhonza tambo	Translates to "pretending to be sick", means "to pull a string" (in reference to wasting time)
Kucheka	Translates to "sexual intercourse," means "to cut" (could be in reference to homosexual sex, painful sex, or could be used by inmates to throw off officers from its original meaning)
Makadhibhokisi	Translates to "an inmate who leaks information to prison officers," means a snitch (in reference to the image of leaking)
Mwana	Translates to "child" (in reference to a man taking a female role)
Matabawo	Tablets/medication
Mutsara	Translates to "line," means "meat" (in reference to meat being a scarce commodity, thus becoming a "line" to opportunities)
Musoro wechitima	Translates to "head of the train," means "gang leader"
Munyoro	Translates to "soft one," means "a new inmate"
Muchini	Translates to "machine," means "needle"
Mbuya	A respectful way of saying "grandmother" or "aunt"
Mavhiri mudenga	Translates to "wheels in the air," means a beating underneath the feet
Mari	Translates to "money," refers to commodities that can be traded
Ngayaya	Marijuana
Nzondora	Translates to "chicken feet," refers to homosexual (in reference to chicken feet being a delicacy, could be in reference to enjoying something pleasurable)
Noczim	Cooking oil (in reference to the acronym for National Oil Company of Zimbabwe)
Ndege	Maniac or mentally-challenged
OK (Supermarket)	Rubbish pit
Panze	Outside
Police	A snitch (in reference to an inmate cooperating with the police who is then considered an ally of the police)
Razor	A small space where an inmate sleeps on
Stodart	Story telling or movie watching
Seridha	Cell
Shop dambu	Translates to "breaking a shop," means shoplifting (in reference to breaking into a shop and shoplifting)
Thornhill	Maniac or mentally-challenged (in reference to the Thornhill Airbase, an allusion to an airplane)
TV (television)	Window
TM (Supermarket)	Rubbish pit
Whiters	Fresh or sour cow's milk
Zvibhezhi	A hospital, clinic, or dispensary
Zviwanikwa	Translates to "discoverable," means illegal items (in reference to valuable commodities)

References

^ ^a ^b Mayr, A. 2012. Prison Language. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.
^ ^a ^b ^c Newman, John G.; Dossena, Marina; Łodej, Sylwester (2015-12-31). Token: A Journal of English Linguistics (Volume 4). Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce.
^ ^a ^b ^c Little, Bert (Summer 1982). "Prison Lingo: A Style of American English Slang". Anthropological Linguistics. 24 (2): 206–244. JSTOR 30027838.
^ Dziedzic-Rawska, Alicja (2016-07-27). "Linguistic creativity in American prison settings". Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature. 40 (1): 81. doi:10.17951/lsmll.2016.40.1.81. ISSN 0137-4699.
^ Hildebrand, Joe (April 28, 2017). "Your complete guide to prison slang". News.com.au. Archived from the original on March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
^ "Why is Portsmouth called Pompey?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 11, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
^ "Bagman", Wikipedia, 2024-07-11, retrieved 2024-07-12
^ "Meaning of bagman in English, Cambridge English Dictionary".
^ Devlin, Angela (1996). Prison Patter: A Dictionary of Prison Words and Slang. Waterside Press. ISBN 9781872870410.
^ Sharon Shaley (2009). Supermax: Controlling Risk Through Solitary Confinement. Willan Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 978-1134026678.
^ Sabao, Collen; Gohodzi, Isheanesu; Phiri, Fiona Mtulisi (2019). "Zimbabwean prison argot". JULACE: Journal of the University of Namibia Language Centre. 4 (1): 29–48. doi:10.32642/julace.v4i1.1423. ISSN 2026-8297.