noun General Slang

Pedlar's French

/ˈpɛdlərz frɛntʃ/ · noun · slang

An old name for the canting tongue itself — the secret 'language' of thieves and vagabonds.

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Definitions

1

The cant itself — the secret argot of thieves, beggars and vagabonds, so called because it sounded as foreign and unintelligible to honest ears as French.

“He spoke pedlar's French so fluently the constable couldn't make a word of it.”
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2

By extension, any unintelligible jargon or cant-speak; gibberish to the uninitiated.

“Their bargaining was pure pedlar's French to me — I caught not a syllable.”
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3

Synonymous with 'cant', 'flash', 'St Giles Greek' and 'the canting tongue' — the many names for the same thieves' lingo.

“Pedlar's French, cant, flash — by any name it kept honest men in the dark.”
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Pedlar's French In A Sentence

Harman set out to expose pedlar's French so the public might understand it.
Only one raised in the rookery truly mastered pedlar's French.
To the magistrate it was all pedlar's French and no confession at all.

Origin & Usage

An early name for the cant, used in the 16th century and noted by Harman (1566), who treated the whole secret vocabulary as a kind of foreign language. 'Pedlars' carried it on the road; later names include 'flash' and 'St Giles Greek'.

Variants peddler's Frenchcanting tongueSt Giles Greekflash
Tags #thieves-cant#cant#historical#british#language

People Also Ask

What is pedlar's French?

An old name for thieves' cant — the secret argot of rogues, so called because it was as baffling to honest ears as a foreign tongue.

Why 'French'?

Because the cant sounded foreign and unintelligible; 'French' here just means an alien, secret language, not actual French.

What else was the cant called?

Cant, flash, St Giles Greek and the canting tongue — all names for the same thieves' argot.

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