Tough Slang |
I’ve been watching a lot of delinquent movies (I have recs) lately and I’ve started to collect the slang common in them. This is a “dictionary” that’s useful for writing but I’d still recommend looking up period or group specific slang yourself too, consider this a starting guide.
Primarily 50s-60s , mixed with general slang and relevant words.
Baby: Term of endearment [also used in Gay context]
Backseat bingo: Making out
Beat it: Go away
Belted: Beaten; Hurt
Bent car: Stolen car
Bit: Job; Robbery plan
Blade: Knives [typically switchblade]
Blast: Good time
Bop: Kill
Boss: Liked man of authority
Box job: Safe cracking
Break it up: Stop fighting
Broad: Woman
Bug: Bother
Bugging: Freaking out; Tripping
Bulls: Cops
Bum: To get by asking or begging; Vagrant
Bunk: Sleep with ; Share a prison cell
Candy ass: Coward
Can opener: Tools capable of breaking open safe
Can: Prison
Cheese it: Stop what you’re doing; Look out
Cherry: Good looking/condition [typically a car, sometimes a person]
Chicken: Coward
Cool it: Calm down
Cooler: Prison
Con: Convict; Swindle
Copped: Had the cops called on; Ratted out
Cranked: High; Drunk
Crash: Stay/sleep at someone’s place
Crazy: Deranged ; Enthusiastic about something
Cut the gas: Get to the point; shut up
Deck: Box of ciggerettes; To punch
Dibs: Laying claim on something
Dig: to understand; to like something
Dive: Low down place
Flat: Broke
Flip: Panic
Freak out: Wild/irrational reaction or behavior
Fry: Executed by electric chair
Fuzz: Police
Gas: Fun or cool
Get bent: Get lost; Go fuck yourself
Get lost: Go away
Greaser: Young man with greased hair, usually of lower class , gang affiliation or juvenile delinquent
Hang: Gather together with no expressed purpose
Hang loose: Relax; Take it easy
Happenin’: Exciting/Lively/Busy ; With the times
Heat: Police
Heater: Gun
Headshrinker: Shrink; therapist
Hip: With it; Understand; Cool
Hoodlum/hood: Trouble maker; Criminal
Jam: in trouble; Cram something
JD: Juvenile delinquent
Jive: Agree with someone
Jug: Prison
Jumped: Attacked without warning; Beaten
Keen: Eager; Enthusiastic
Lay off: Leave alone
Lifer: Someone serving a life sentence
Loaded: Drunk; Armed [Depending on context]
Lone it: Do something on ones own
Loiter: Stand or wait around without purpose; hang out
Man: Colloquialism for emphasis or familiarity 
Neato: Neat; Excellent; Exciting
Nance: Efféminent guy/Gay
Pack: Carry some sort of weapon
Pad: Where someone lives
Pansy: Efféminent guy/Gay
Paper shaker: Cheerleader
Pops: Affectionate term for an older man
Punk: Hoodlum
Rat: to tell on
Reefer: Weed; Marijuana
Rod: Gun
Rumble: Organized fight
Scram: Go away
Scum: Despicable person
Shiner: A black eye
Sock: Punch
Skin: Fight with no weapons
Slug: Bullet ; Hit
Stay cool: Remain calm ; control yourself
“Give some skin”: High five or handshake
Spill: Tell information
Split: Leave ; Get out fast
Square: Uninteresting person; Someone never in trouble with law
Stuck: Stabbed [in context]
Sucker : Gullible person; Someone who was conned
Swingin’ : Exciting ; Hip ; throwing punches [in context]
Tanked: Drunk
“The man”: Figure of authority keeping systems in place [Oppressive] ; One who maintains status quo
Turf: Territory
War council: Meeting between organized gangs to work out issues or plan a fight
Waste: Kill
Weed: Cigarette
Whipped: Beaten
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