thieves' cant
Underworld secret language
Thieves' cant is a secret vocabulary used by criminals to communicate without outsiders understanding.
The term dates to the 16th century, when rogues and vagabonds developed coded words for their activities, targets, and warnings.
The pickpocket spoke in thieves' cant to alert his partner.
The concept extends to any specialized jargon that deliberately excludes non-initiates.
- Elizabethan EnglandBritain under the first Elizabeth
- argotGroup-specific coded speech
- group identityShared sense of belonging
- slangInformal in-group vocabulary
- hidden meaningsImplicit messages beneath surface
double talk · cutpurse · Shakespearean plays · euphemisms · black market · folk ballads · secrecy · rogues · criminal underworld · solidarity · secret language · coded · underworld · idiomatic expressions · wordplay · alley · trust-building · smuggler
thieves' cantKing's English
Formal British standard dialect
Queen's English · proper English · standard language · official language · BBC English
thieves' cantplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
common parlance · public discourse · lingua franca · plain language · plain English
thieves' cantlegal language
Formal juridical terminology
diplomatic language · official language · legalese · academic discourse