The Language Of Crooks, Thugs, And Gangsta’s

Street Speak

Hooray for you! You’ve just earned your degree in English Literature and you’re ready to begin an exciting new career. But you quickly learn that all the cool jobs, the ones where you could put your hard-earned knowledge to work are, well, non-existent. Gone. So you do the next best thing … you go to work as a police officer.

Unfortunately, on your very first arrest you find that you can’t understand a single word coming out of the suspect’s mouth. Have you possibly nabbed a foreign spy? Why does the bad guy keep saying he wished his homies hadn’t booked in da’ bomb cause right now they’d be spraying or popping you with a double deuce? You wonder if the department has an on-call translator you could contact.

You call for your supervisor, hoping she can help, but all she does is chuckle and say, “Welcome to our world.”

No, they don’t teach the language of the streets in the police academy. It’s just something you learn as you go. So, for those of you who don’t hang out at the corner of Kill St. and Crack Ave., or in cell block C, here are a few of colorful and flowery words and terms spoken by the little darlin’s of the street.

A-Town – Atlanta, GA

Academy – Prison or jail

Ad Seg – Administrative Segregation; prison disciplinary unit, the “hole”

Agua – Spanish for water – also used as slang for Meth

AK – Semi-automatic weapon; AK-47

Always and forever – Blood for life. Also BFL – Blood For Life

BK – Blood Killer – term used by Crips gang members

Bang’em – Kill a Crip

Be on the nut – Broke. Having no money

Be Real – Prepare for war/a fight

Big Boy – Gang leader

Binky – A prison-made needle

Blast – To assault or kill someone on sight

Blunt – A cigar with most tobacco removed and replaced with marijuana; may also contain cocaine

Bomb – Car, or other vehicle

Brand – Tattoo

Bullet – A one-year jail sentence

Burner – A gun

Chippin’ – Occasional drug use

Cho-mo – Child molester

Cop Shop – Police station or guard’s office (prison)

Cuz – Fellow gang member

Deuce-and-a-half – .25 caliber semi-automatic

Dime – Ten-year prison sentence, or a ten dollar bag of drugs

Do A Ghost – Leave the area/go home/go anywhere but where you are at the moment

Do A Jack – Commit a robbery

Double Deuce – .22 caliber handgun

Draped – Wearing lots of flashy jewelry

Flag – Gang colors

Four-five – .45 caliber handgun

Fuggly – exceptionally ugly person

Gauge – Shotgun

Gang Bang – To fight with rival gang members

Gear – Clothing

Gee (or G) – The police

G-ster – Gangster

*More to come

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