#crime

Cockney for the Flying Squad — 'Sweeney Todd' rhymes with Squad, clipped to 'the Sweeney'.

To steal — the cant verb that gave us 'shoplifting' centuries on.

A sneak-thief who slipped into houses to steal cloaks and coats off the pegs.

An accomplice who screens the thief — the body that blocks the view while the foin works.

The police, or jail itself, a cornerstone of the tango underworld's vocabulary.

A petty criminal, crook or lowlife, a fixture of the tango underworld.

A pickpocket, or the act of picking pockets, from the old porteno underworld.

A thief who 'fished' goods through open windows with a hooked pole by night.

Verlan for 'pourri' (rotten) — specifically a corrupt cop on the take.

A thief, in the old canting tongue — the general word for anyone who lifts what isn't theirs.

A cutpurse — the rogue who sliced the strings of a hanging purse and palmed the coin.

A pickpocket — the rogue who lifted a purse by fingers alone, no blade required.

Cockney for thief — 'tea leaf' rhymes with thief, used to call someone a 'tea leaf'.