Prison Slang
Prison and jail slang decoded — shank, on the yard, bird and lock-up lingo with real meanings and origins. Properly sourced.
395 words
In a blind spot out of camera and guard view.
A woman associated with criminals; a gangster's girlfriend.
Away serving time in a state prison.
A makeshift stabbing weapon — prison-made blade.
To murder someone, esp. on orders.
A person set up to take the blame; a fall guy or dupe.
To siphon off cash before it is officially counted or reported.
Cheap, plain state-issued sneakers.
Dominoes.
Newly arrived inmates, seen as untested or vulnerable.
One who collects or carries illicit money for a criminal operation.
Mature content — open to view.
Mature content — open to view.
Corporal punishment inflicted by inmates on one of their own.
Informing indirectly, by talking loudly or hinting to staff.
A one-on-one fight with no weapons and no interference.
A stupid or contemptible person.
Mature content — open to view.
An established prisoner who follows the inmate code.
Skilled at fighting with fists.
A sentence so long the parole date sounds like science fiction.
To leave suddenly; to flee or disappear.
An illicit note passed between cells.
Wearing an electronic ankle monitor on court orders.
To be released from prison; also to enter protective custody.
A one-hundred-dollar bill.
Prison slur-turned-badge for a white inmate.
A search of your cell by screws looking for contraband.
A thief who robs apartments or dwellings.
A safecracker; one who blows or breaks open safes.
A five-dollar bill.
Administrative segregation housing, used to separate inmates.
A crime family's trusted adviser.
Money.
To be arrested or convicted, esp. in another's place.
The outside world beyond prison.
Prison cell — 'the flowery'.
Postage stamps used as prison currency.
The general prison population, or the mass move to chow.
Sent off to prison.