Message

Logo Scholastic - Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life
Home Dictionaries
SAVE 50%
RRP: $29.99
$15.00

James Hardy Vaux's 1819 Dictionary of Criminal Slang and Other Impolite Terms as Used by the Convict

Author: Barnard,Simon

Item Code: 100084116

Product Type Book

Format Hardback

ISBN 9781925773897

Publisher: THE TEXT PUBLISHING CO PTY LTD

  • Description
  • Details

In the early 1800s magistrates in the Australian colonies were often frustrated by the language used by re-offending convicts to disguise their criminal activities and intentions. Convict clerk James Hardy Vaux came up with a useful idea: a dictionary of slang and other terms used by convicts. And so, in 1819, he compiled what was to be Australia’s first published dictionary.

With words such as fence (a receiver of stolen goods), flesh-bag (a shirt), flip (to shoot); galloot (a soldier), kid (a child thief), knuckle (to pickpocket), ramp (to rob out in the open), ruffles (handcuffs), screw (a skeleton key), serve (to rob), stamps (shoes) and wrinkle (a lie), Vaux’s dictionary is a fascinating account of convict language, including the origins and early usage of several words that have evolved to become part of Australian English today. And Simon Barnard’s illustrations and supporting accounts of individual convicts and their criminal antics complements this lively picture of Australia’s convict history.

Subject: Dictionaries Reading Level: Lower Secondary, Middle Secondary, Upper Secondary School Year: Year 9, Year 10, Year 11, Year 12 Ages: 14 to 18 Page Count: 300

Write your message below to post a review: