20's Gangster Slang

Do you have the moxie to learn a little 20's gangster slang? They were called the roaring 20's because the jazz age was a fast time when juice joints were filled with molls and gold diggers in glad rags. So quit lollygagging and get started talking like a 20's gangster. Whether you're planning a flapper party, want to get more out of old gangster movies, or are just up for a laugh, 20's gangster slang will make you the niftiest sheik or Sheba at the speakeasy.

Popular 20's Slang

The slang of the 20's, like the slang of any generation, was conceived in the hives of counter-culture. It wasn't so much a code to keep the police in the dark, as many movies and legends would have you believe, but a special code among those who wanted to appear as insiders.

Some of the most popular slang words of the 20's included:

Babe, Bim, Broad, Doll or Dame - A woman

Moll - A gangster's girlfriend

Bearcat - A fiery woman

Dumb Dora -A stupid woman

Sheba -A woman with sex appeal

Stool-pigeon - A person who informs the police

Peaching - Informing

Finger - Identify

Bulls - Plainclothes police

Gum-shoe - Detective

Copper - Policeman

Bracelets - Handcuffs

Big House or Can - Jail or prison

In Stir - In jail

Blow - Leave

Bop, Bump or Clip - To kill

Chopper Squad - Guys with machine guns

Pack Heat - Carry a gun

Goon - Thug

Grifter - Con man

Meat Wagon - Ambulance

Chicago Overcoat - A coffin

Big Sleep - Death

Bean-shooter or Gat - A gun

Packing Heat - Carrying a gun

Can-opener - Safecracker

Glomming - Stealing

Bent - Stolen

Cabbage or Scratch - Money

Ice - Diamonds

Ameche - A telephone

Boiler or Bucket - A car

Cake-eater - A lady's man

Dewdropper - Unemployed man who spends his days sleeping

Shylock - A loanshark

Sheik - An attractive man

Bangtail - Racehorse

Gangster Slang

In the 20's, no one was more counter-culture than gangsters. Gangsters were off-color, played by their own rules, and didn't give a hoot about what anyone thought of them, i.e., everything your parents didn't want you to be.

Even though everybody knows that 20's mobsters often acted like monsters, there's something charming about the seedy underbelly of the jazz age. The slang of that time is infused with nostalgia, that thing that gives people the notion of a better time.

When one hears the slang of times long gone, it's easy to forget that alcohol was illegal and unsafe, that corruption in government ran rampant, and that minorities and immigrants were more marginalized than ever.

Jazz Age Slang Today

What seemed dirty or off-color almost a hundred years ago seems rather tame by today's standards. Using the slang of yore can add character and charm to your idiolect and make the obscene less so.

Basically, using slang from a long time ago, you can get away with a whole lot more. Only ancient slang can make young ladies blush and grannies laugh. What made the gangsters of the 20's the types of guys you didn't want around your neighborhood now makes everyone want to hear you talk. You'll be the bee's knees.

Instead of talking about a woman's legs, you can talk about her gams. Instead of saying a woman is hot, you can say she's a doll or a Sheba.

Throw a 20's Speakeasy Party

Here in the 21st century, it's popular to throw parties at which people speak like 20's gangsters. It's pretty easy to do.

1. Go to a vintage store and pick out the oldest things you can find. Accuracy is fun, but it isn't the most important thing when it comes to a successful speakeasy party. A good hat will go a long way.
2. Decorate your space with lots of tinsel and streamers. Glass trays for hors d'oeuvres and glass decanters for alcohol also lend a 1920s look.
3. If you don't have a lot of glassware, use tea cups for liquor and paper bags around your beer. It's supposed to look illegal. Part of the fun is to pretend like the cops can hammer down the doors at any moment.
4. Play old records, CD's of old jazz or stream an online foxtrot playlist.
5. Talk like a 20's gangster.

• Here's a great list of slang terms from the 20's, where you'll find translations for all the words used in this article and much more.

Looking for more 20s slang? There are several Internet sites that provide detailed glossaries of 1920s slang including AACA and SGInc.31, the sources for many of the above slang words.