I have defined some of the words (underlined) in the dialogue, which you can add to your Personal Dictionary. Click on the Excel icon to download the word list to your PC or mobile device, which you can thereafter import into your Personal Dictionary. They are also listed below.
Scroll down to the end of the story for links to a crossword and word search using words from this post, as well a YouTube video.
Squeal – Inform on someone
Just desserts – Receive punishment what one deserves
Plod – Police officer
Collar – Seize or apprehend someone
Beak – The court judge
Throw the book – Make as many charges as possible against an offender
Chokey – Prison
Old bill – The police
Rap on the knuckles – Light punishment
Rat – Inform on someone
Minder – A bodyguard employed to protect a celebrity or criminal
Nark – A police informer
Porridge – To spend time in prison
Go on the straight and narrow – Live an honest life and not do illegal things
Racket – An illegal or dishonest scheme for obtaining money
Skim – Obtain credit card details fraudulently
Nab – Catch and arrest
You come back here. I’ll give you what for.
Who were you shouting at?
Some kids from down the street kicked their football against our car Judy.
Are you going to see their parents and squeal on them? Make sure they get their just desserts? The plod will come, collar them, take their mugshots and they’ll be up before the beak tomorrow morning. They will have the book thrown at them and be doing time in chokey by the afternoon.
I suppose I could call the old bill, but they would probably just give them a rap on their knuckles. But the rozzers might rat on me and tell them that I was the snitch, then I would need to have a minder to protect me. I would always be known as a grass or a police nark.
They are 15-year old boys Ed, not wide boys, before you say anything. You aren’t going to call the fuzz. The coppers would laugh at you.
But you see it in the films. They spend time in the clink, learn all the tricks, then embark on a life of crime.
Very few of them do porridge and most end up going on the straight and narrow.
But others are lured in to crime and earning easy money. They get involved in rackets such as money laundering and credit card skimming.
What is that?
WI’ve got no idea, but I got an email informing me that I should protect my credit card. Maybe I should go outside and nab them myself.
Or close the curtains, ignore them and I’ll make you a cup of tea.
To test your knowledge, why not do a crossword puzzle, using words from this text?
Click here for instructions on how to play.
To test your knowledge, why not do a word search puzzle, using words from this text?
Click here for instructions on how to play.
Click on the image to watch a video using crime and punishment slang
Here are some further slang expressions, some of which were not used in the story.
Do a runner (exp) – is British slang for to escape, run−away or disappear
When I asked them to help me, they did a runner.
Done up like a kipper (exp) – Conned or framed
The police have done him up like a kipper. He wasn’t even in the pub that night.
Flyposting (n) – The posting up of posters or advertisements in unauthorised places
The authorities are cracking down on flyposting. I wouldn’t put up that poster on that wall if I were you.
Fly−tipping (n) – The dumping of rubbish in unauthorised places
Look at those grass trimmings. All the people in the neighbourhood use this area for fly–tipping.
Supergrass (n) – A police informer
I’m sure that guy is a supergrass. He always talks to the police when they come in to the pub.
Swag (n) – The property obtained by theft or other illicit means
The police believe the thieves escaped with their swag in a shopping trolley.
The nick (n) – A police station or prison
If you don’t behave, we will take you down the nick.
Blag (vb) – Steal (something) in a robbery or raid
The thieves blagged some televisions in a raid on the electronics centre.
Brief (n) – Solicitor or barrister
I am going to court on Monday. I need to speak to my brief before then.
Bust (vb) – A raid or arrest by the police
The illegal rave was busted by the police.
Chokey (n) – Prison
If you carry on leasing a life of crime, you’ll end up in chokey.
Clink (n) – Prison
This is your last warning. If you commit another crime, you will end up in the clink.
Collar (vb) – Seize or apprehend someone
The police officers were able to collar the thief as he escaped from the shop.
Copper (n) – Policeman/woman
When he saw the coppers, he decided to run the other way.
Do time (vb) – Spend time in prison
After doing time, Eddie learnt the errors of his ways and stopped his criminal activities.
Fall-guy (n) – A scapegoat. The person who takes the blame for a crime
Bruce was the unwilling fall-guy, because he didn’t even commit the crime.
Fence (n) – A person who deals in stolen goods
When they opened the lock-up garage, they discovered that the owner was probably a fence for a lot of electronic devices.
Frame (vb) – Produce false evidence against (an innocent person) so that they appear guilty
Gareth’s lawyers claimed that the police framed him, because he wasn’t even in the area the night the crime was committed.
Fuzz (n) – The police
Everybody run! Here comes the fuzz.
Grass (n) – A police informer
The officers got the information from a grass who knew the criminal.
Give you what for (exp) – Punish someone
When your father gets home, he will give you what for.
Inside job (n) – A crime committed by or with the assistance of a person living or working on the premises where it occurred
The police think it must’ve been an inside job, because nobody from outside would’ve known about the new products.
Just desserts (exp) – Receive what one deserves, especially appropriate punishment
The thief who crashed his car escaping from the bank got his just desserts.
Kickback (n) – An illicit payment
Some people think the football trainer got kickbacks, but the allegations weren’t true.
Launder (vb) – Conceal the origins of (money obtained illegally), typically by transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses
The police believe the bakery on the High Street is used to launder money.
Legit (adj) – Legitimate, conforming to the rules, legal
The book looks legit. It’s probably one of the originally published copies of the first Harry Potter book.
Light-fingered (adj) – Prone to steal
You have to nail everything down. Harry is a little bit light-fingered.
Loot (n) – Money, which has been stolen
Officers found the loot buried in a forest near the crime scene.
Minder (n) – A bodyguard employed to protect a celebrity or criminal
The gangland boss has needed a minder ever since he gave information which convicted a rival gang’s boss.
Mugshot (n) – A photograph of a person’s face made for an official purpose, especially police records
Julian works for the police. He is a photographer and takes the mugshots of all of the suspects who come to the station.
Nab (vb) – Catch and arrest
The store detectives nabbed the man who had put jewellery into his inside pockets.
Nark (n) – Squealer
We are warning you Terry. Nobody likes a nark.
Old Bill (n) – The police
Kevin has been in trouble with the old bill all his life.
On the fiddle (exp) – Engaged in cheating or swindling
Some people think that Dave is on the fiddle, because he always has a lot of cash on him.
Perp (n) – Perpetrator of a crime
The police believe they have caught the perp. He was trying to escape on foot but didn’t get very far.
Phoney (adj) – Not genuine, fraudulent
The police think the criminal used a phoney German accent to convince the telephone operator that he was from the government.
Plant (vb) – Put or hide (something) among someone’s belongings to compromise or incriminate the owner
The supermarket boss planted money into the cashier’s handbag, because he needed a reason to dismiss her.
Porridge (n) – Time spent in prison
Mickey has done porridge for 10 of the 45 years that he has been alive.
Racket (n) – An illegal or dishonest scheme for obtaining money
The police believe they have apprehended a man who was responsible for a credit card racket, which cost the banks hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Rap one’s knuckles (exp) – Smack on knuckles to punish someone
Sometimes giving a young offenders a rap on their knuckles is enough to prevent them from committing a second crime.
Rat on (vb) – Inform on someone
I would never rat on a colleague, so don’t even ask.
Rozzers (n) – Police officers
City are playing against United today in the football derby. There are rozzers everywhere.
Scam (n) – A dishonest scheme, a fraud
Jeffrey lost a lot of money last year, in an elaborate email scam.
Shady (adj) – Dishonest or illegal
If you ask me that car dealer is a bit shady. I wouldn’t buy a car from him.
Skim (vb) – Obtain fraudulent copy (credit or debit card details) with a card swipe or other devices
My bank account was skimmed when a gang were able to make a copy of my credit card.
Snitch (n) – An informer
A snitch helped the officers to apprehend the culprit.
Squeal (vb) – Inform on someone
The police were able to convince one of the robbers to squeal and got the name of his accomplice.
Stitch-up (n) – Placing someone in a position in which they will be wrongly blamed for something
The manager of the local supermarket lost his job, even though he was a victim of a stitch-up.
Straight and narrow (exp) – Live a good, honest life and not do illegal things
After committing crimes in his youth, Sebastian decided to go on the straight and narrow.
Plod (n) – Police officer
Somebody has gone missing. The plod are everywhere in the park.
Throw the book (exp) – Make as many charges as possible against an offender’
For what he has done, they will throw the book at him. He will probably serve a long prison sentence.
Up before the Beak (exp) – Appearance before a magistrate in court
He will be up before the beak on Monday morning. I hope the judge is in a good mood after the weekend.
Wide boy (n) – A man involved in petty criminal activities
Martin’s son is such a wide boy. He’s always getting into trouble with the police.
