Vice Slang ‘Vice,for the purposes of this dictionary,encompasses only those guilty pleasures that the morally stringent disdain,and that don’t fit neatly into the sex or crime drawers of our personal closets. Drinks,drugs and gambling – it’s a journey of discovery from A to Zulu,and you really should know better.’ From the preface by Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor Vice Slang Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor CONTENTS Preface vii Acknowledgements ix A – Z entries 1 Themed boxes heroin 9 class A 18 cocaine 27 crack 36 marijuana and hashish – as it comes 48 marijuana – ready for consumption 57 ecstasy 67 GHB 75 ketamine 82 amphetamines and methamphetamines 89 tranquillisers 97 LSD 106 drug cocktails and blends 113 drinks 123 intoxicated 134 users 144 poker 153 playing cards and card players 165 gamblers 174 horse racing 183 betting 191 dice 199 PREFACE Vice,forthepurposesofthisdictionary,encompassesonlythoseguiltypleasuresthatthe morallystringentdisdain,andthatdon’tfitneatlyintothesexorcrimedrawersofourpersonal closets.Drinks,drugsandgambling–it’sajourneyofdiscoveryfromAtoZulu,andyoureally shouldknowbetter. ButforthoseofuswhoareintriguedbyunconventionalEnglish,theslangthatoozesfrom thesedissolutepastimesisjustificationenoughforthemostself-servingofsins.Yes,youcan takethemoralhighgroundandpretendtobeappalledbythisslang,or,morelikely,the practicesdescribed,butifyouweren’tamusedwiththewitandcreativityofourunconventional vocabularyyouwouldn’tbeholdingthisbookinyourhandsinthefirstplace. Wearehard-wiredwithalinguisticresourcefulnessthatcandisguiseorbetrayourhopesand fears.Considerhowoftenanuncomfortablejokeisusedtodefendusfromtragedyordespair andthereyouwilldiscoverthegenesisofviceslang;thisvocabularyisaseriesofpunchlines tosomeoflife’sdarkestjokes.Nomatterhowfaryouventurebeyondthepalethere’salwaysa wordforitinthesepages. Theneedforslangasanintimatelanguageanddefenderofmoraltransgressionisreadily apparent.Thenextgeneration–perhapsthatshouldbedegeneration–isalwaysreinventing andrefiningthepracticesofdrinking,druguseandgambling;theexcitementofdiscoveryand danger,ofoutrageandrebellionagainstthemainstreamisevidentinthissmalldictionaryof viceslang. Thisvolumeconsistsofapproximately3,000headwordentriesdrawninlargepartfromourNew PartridgeDictionaryofSlangandUnconventionalEnglish,inwhichwerecordedslangand unconventionalEnglishheardanywhereintheEnglish-speakingworldanytimesince1945.In thatworkandhereweincludedpidgin,CreolizedEnglishandborrowedforeigntermsusedby EnglishspeakersinprimarilyEnglish-languageconversation.Weexcludednotermonthe groundthatitmightbeconsideredoffensiveasaracial,ethnic,religious,sexualorotherslur. Thisdictionarycontainsmanyentriesandcitationsthatwill,andshould,offend. WeusedUKspellingfordefinitionsandourcommentarybutusedindigenousspellingfor headwordsandcitations.ThisisespeciallyrelevantinthecaseoftheUKarseandUSass.For Yiddishwords,weusedLeoRosten’sspelling,whichfavourssh-oversch-.Aninitialismis showninuppercasewithoutfullstops(forexample,ABC).Phrasesare,asarule,placedunder theirfirstsignificantword.Forexample,thephrasegetyourwingsislistedasaphraseunder theheadwordwings.Bythisplacementscheme,wesoughttoavoidtheendlesspagesof entriesstartingwithprepositionsorcommonverbssuchasget. Indealingwithslangfromallsevencontinents,weencounteredmorethanafewculture- specificterms.Forsuchterms,weidentifiedthedomainorgeographiclocationoftheterm’s usage.WeusedconventionalEnglishinthedefinitions,turningtoslangonlywhenitisboth substantiallymoreeconomicalthantheuseofconventionalEnglishandreadilyunderstoodby theaveragereader. Werecognizethattheaccuratedatingofslangisfarmoredifficultthandatingconventional language.Virtuallyeverywordinourlexiconisspokenbeforeitiswritten,andthisisespecially trueofunconventionalterms.Wedatedatermtoindicatetheearliestcitationthatwe discovered. Foreachentry,weincludedaquotation,acitationoraglossexplainingwherethetermwas collected.Sheerjoy–orintoxication–isoftenfoundexpressedinthesequotations,whilethe citationsandglossesgiveasenseofwhenandwherethetermwasfound. Preface viii Ifyou’relookingforahigholdtimeyoucanbetyourbonesyou’vecometotherightplace.The signonthedoorsays‘LiquorinFront,PokerinBack’.BythetimeyouhavejourneyedfromAto Zuluyoureallywillknowbetter,andcan’taskformorethanthat. TomDalzell,Berkeley,California TerryVictor,Caerwent,Wales LateSpring2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OurdebttoSophieOliverdefiesdescription.Withgoodhumourandasaintlytoleranceforour so-calledwitandattemptstocorrupt,sheherdedthisprojectthroughfromaglimmerinthe eyetoprintonthepage. Webowtoandthankthefollowingwhohelpedalongtheway:MaryAnnKernan,whowas chargedwithputtingthisprojecttogetherin1999and2000;JohnWilliams,whomustbe creditedforallthatisrightaboutourlexicographyandexcusedforanythingthatisnot;our contributorstotheNewPartridge,RichardAllsopp,DianeBardsley,JamesLambert,JohnLoftus, LewisPoteet;andourSexandVicetask-mistressSonjavanLeeuwen. TomDalzellandTerryVictor Thisdictionarywouldneverhaveseenthelightofdaywithoutthetimeandsupportgivenme bymyfamily:Cathy,Jake,Julia,Rosalie,andCharlotte.InthewordsofLennyBruce,Ididn’tdo allthis,Ionlywroteit. Ithank:myslangmentorsPaulDicksonandMadelineKripke(andbettermentorsyoucouldnot hopefor);ArchieGreen,whosavedPeterTamony’sworkforposterityandencouragedme throughoutthisproject;ReinoldAman,JesseSheidlower,JonathanGreenandSusanFord,slang lexicographers,friendsandcomradesinwords;TomMiller,BillStolz,JohnKonzalandPatricia Walker,archivistsattheWesternHistoricalManuscriptCollection,UniversityofMissouriat Columbia,fortheirhelpandinsightsduringmyworkwiththePeterTamonyarchives;and RichardPerlmanforhispatienttechnologicalhelp. Lastly,IacknowledgeTerryVictor.Withhisjoyoflifeandfirmappreciationofthebenefitsof vice,hehasmadeaconsiderablemarkonthelasteightyears. TomDalzell Liz,forherpatience,toleranceandunderstanding;thatwedon’tshareanyofthevices collectedinthisbookisherachievementnotmine.Thankyou,Liz. Myinspirationscannotgounacknowledged;theseductiveswirloftheirslangledayoungman astray,especiallyallthosesongsthatweren’taboutdrugs,honest:‘LucyintheSkywith Diamonds’,‘SweetJane’,‘AnotherGirl,AnotherPlanet’,‘GoldenBrown’,‘HereComestheNice’, ‘Motorhead’andmore.Itwascooltobeinonthesecret.Theygotmestarted,longbeforeI hadeverheardofEbeneezerGoodeorEricPartridge. But,aboveall,TomDalzellmustbenamedandshamedastheViceroyofVice,forhisslang scholarshipandgenerosity–wearedancinginthedarkplacesandheisleadingtheway. TerryVictor