Thieves' Cant
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
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Table of Contents
0:00 intro
1:03 criminal linguistics
3:26 police guide to criminal linguistics
4:38 argots in literature
5:55 pause to try it at home
9:38 bring us more
10:01 Petal ad
11:15 cta
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Music used in this video:
"Delayed Response" by John Montoya
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"HarpsiLyndon" by Anthony Shea
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"No Home" by Cullah
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"Clockwork happy madness" by Anthony Shea
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"Till At Last" by Cullah
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"Inner Senses" by John Montoya
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Wait this was commented an hour ago? But the premier just happened what.
Lads, look into Irish travellers cant, also called Shelta or Gammon apparently. It's the language of the travellers a historically looked down on and discriminated against ethnic group here in Ireland. They're always viewed as criminals here, always, and they're super insular, even online it's hard to find any resources on the language.
Doc brown slang 101 is a similarly brilliant video
If you enjoyed the Thieves' Cant, I'd love to see you two trying to tackle Cockney Rhyming Slang! It's a bit vulgar but hilariously fun to learn and still in use today in parts of London! :D
"Went down the rubber for a ruby with me China the other night, saw some old toe rag more than a bit tiddly dancing down the street with 'er Bristol's out! I was so busy givin' 'er a butchers that I slipped and fell on me Khyber Pass. Felt like a right berk!" 😂
I learned Na’Vï in High School
MR: Thieves Cant
Me: Not with that attitude.
Thieves can!
@@stevencooper564 not only can, but thieves will!
Thanks, Dad.
You can learn almost every language, but Thieves' Cant.
@@stevencooper564 I came here to make this exact joke... 2 years late
What I use for Thieves Cant in my D&D Games sounds like this:
*Rogue introduces himself to a fellow rogue and is seeking work so may ask about the talk around the town*
"Did you hear about Michael? He was injured in work accident last week. He was recovering really well but has taken a turn for the worst and it looks like he is not going to make it. His wife is beside herself but at least his 3 kids and 5 grandkids will be around to comfort him. His friend will miss him at their evening card games down at the local. You should go meet them if you want to give your condolences."
The Rogues has been confirmed that there is a job on offer "did you hear about Michael". Michael was injured so the rogue now knows that the job is an assassination. Michael was doing really well which meant that the job was going to be an easy one, but now he has taken a turn for the worst and does not look like he is going to make it which means something happened and now the job is a very hard one. "His wife is beside herself" so the Rogue knows that the target is on alert. It is stated that he has 3 kids and 5 grandkids so the pay out is 530gp as number of kids = GP in units of 10, grandkids =GP in units of 100, great grandkids = GP in units of 1000 (the rogue can interact with the vender to establish a better price by adding on more kids and such but if you barter then you have basically accepted the job). "his friends will miss him at their evening card games at the local" means we will be playing a card game at the local tavern, come join the game and we will you give you more information where we can speak in private.
That is honestly super cool, and I may try this for my own D&D games...
Good idea, it sounds more like double speak then a coded language, though.
*
Absolutely brilliant. I'm definitely stealing this method of Thieves' Cant for my own D&D games. Looks like my next character is going to be a Rogue lol
Brian's hair hair is definitely long enough to bring the spikes back for at least one more episode
Oh my god you fucking genius
He needs a haircut. It doesn't look good.
@@Skeezik1998 ok boomer
Vouch
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!
Quick note: Bubble and squeak is so called because the cabbage "squeaks" when fried.
It's called bubble an squeak because it would bubble and squeak over the fire. It's even here www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bubble-and-squeak.html
"I see a rich dude. I'm gonna knock him out, snag his wallet, and get out of there." The first part kinda throws me off, I'm not sure what the "ken" would be
In the Falkirk area of Scotland, the word Ken is used instead of know. Dae ye Ken where Davey is? Answer: sorry mate, a dinny ken.
@@MaverickRenegade I saw that too
@@MaverickRenegade My mom's from Edinburgh and I knew that as well. Maybe from reading Oor Wullie growing up.
Maybe the son or relative of somebody? "kin" is a word that basically means family
"Ken" as in "Kennel"
Then there's RAF banter, a la Monty Python:
"Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how's your father. Hairy blighter dicky-birded, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper's and caught his can in the Bertie."
"Cabbage crates coming over the Briny?!"
All i understand is jerry and kite
...shat on a turtle!
Nah that’s just gobbledygook
@@JudithOpdebeeck It's nonsense, in that it has no "real" purpose, but if you think about it as a drunken RAF pilot raving about the injuries/accolades of his comrades, it actually makes total sense.
East London roadman translation:
'I'm eyein' the gaff of some bare rich peng ting' innit. I'm finna bust in guns blazing, cop a prize then ditch it from the feds.'
If they are doing obscure cants, they should absolutely do Carnie language.
Polari, most definitely!
@@craigfurness5278 I never knew it had a name.
@@STIA3 Polari is a different thing
@@Will-zs9ny Yeah, but it takes from Carnie speak, and is interesting in and of itself.
Trouble with that is Carnie - sometimes called "The Talk" - is *VERY* outfit-specific - About the only *TRULY* universal term amongst all users (at least here in the USA) is "Hey Rube/Hey Ruby", which basically means "Grab something to bash with and come on the run - Some sort of bad thing that needs some butt-whooping to deal with is going on!" This outfit over here might use "donniker" or "donnager" to mean bathroom or porta-potty, but another outfit might use it meaning the outfit's crew chow-hall (if that outfit has one - not all do), and still another might use it to refer to the office trailer where the bags of torn ride tickets get turned in at the end of the night for weighing (which gives a reasonable approximation of how many customers a ride has during the day's run) while a fourth outfit will look at you like you're some sort of dummy and go "huh?" if you try asking which way to the donnager. There are some others that are pretty common, but like I started out saying, the only *REALLY* universal one is Hey Rube/Ruby. A "joint" will almost always be understood as one of the games ("pick a duck", the "dime game", the pitch-till-you-win, etc) in MOST outfits, but it might be a "shy" in others. A ride-monkey in one outfit is a ride-jock in another, a ride-jock's second man is the guy in training to supervise setup and teardown of the ride if the jock goes down for some reason, and might be (but isn't always) the guy who drives the truck that pulls the ride from show to show. But the second man for a joint is usually the one who just stands around quietly, maybe picking up dimes, or making change. A "gazoony" in one outfit is local labor that helps during setup/teardown, in another outfit, those are your "greenhelp". Point being, there really ISN'T any "standard" carnie-speak you could do a vid on that would be worthwhile. (My "authoritative source": Several seasons on the road with various carnie outfits)
Bryan was actually pretty spot on with modern memery being a form of alternative language. The interesting thing is that much like thieves' cant and hobo code, modern memery is both a verbal AND visual language. Someone can relay an entire message in the form of visual memes. A great example, though a bit different, is a scene from The Magicians (Season 3 ep 1) two characters have an entire conversation in the code of pop culture references because they're being watched. (search The Magicians pop culture if you want to check it out- it's 2 minutes.)
Elliot and margo while hiding from the fairies good episode
Y'know, not only does every fucking person my age I talk to have a sizable meme collection, but I'd say a good 90% of modern youth slang comes from or is influenced by memes. The history behind some of these words and inside jokes we've developed over the years is just fascinating. The word "yeet" probably wouldn't be so much as an afterthought in our minds if it wasn't for that 4 second long video of a chick in high school throwing an empty can of soda down a hallway.
I can haz thievesburger?
@@MisterTingles sure
@@anxietyprimev6983 And see here I am a year from 40 and I didn't even have a computer until 2002, have never had facebook, my phone is smarter than my shoe and yet it can't text and I have *NO IDEA WHAT ANYONE IS TALKING ABOUT!* What the hell does "And thanks for all the fish!!" meann!??? MrTingles' I can haz THIEVEsburger with me understanding that to be a punning of the cute little cat thing means I SHOULD BE DEAD!
*calms down* Cheers. Be safe ya'll
translation: I peeked a stacked kid. I'm gonna knock him, yoink his iPhone XR and fry the witnesses
xqcL
Okay there orphan Nikola Tesla, Jesus. I know you just came up with a fancy new ray gun, and it's very impressive that you made it out of garbage, but you need to learn some chill
“I saw a sharp dressed fella over there. I’m gonna unbutton his jacket, steal his flask and run away in my squeaky boots”
Can we... get a Gentleman's Guide to Dungeons and Dragons?
i think jo cat has that covered
youtube is flooded with that already
Old spice released a pamflet for the gentleman class in DnD
@@j.c.cannon2112 thats a crap guide to DnD
Maybe of an actually good edition
Cockney Rhyming Slang actually came about this way, they change words for phrases that rhyme in London. There's actually a similar kind of gay slang in the 60s in England as well, because it was illegal back then.
Are you a friend of Dorothy?
@@dmytrokosynskyy2445 i have a nice beard but i know dorothy well ;)
@@zeroDOTjon bona eek
@@Mike-gt7sk Allo, I'm Julian and this ona palome is sandy
@@dmytrokosynskyy2445 Do you know the Girl in Red?
"I peeped a mark. I'm gonna hit a lick and bounce on out." Early 2000s version of this.
Translation: i baked hoagie rolls today, they came out good and im proud, i just wanted to tell someone
I know i am late, but i wanted to let you know that i am proud of you, too.
@@mikeoxlong1395 holy smokes i started baking 8 months ago??? In the time since the hoagie rolls ive baked bagles, loafs of bread, lots of cookies, macaroons, pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls, eclairs, scones, burger buns, and a traditional black forrest cake! Honestly recently ive felt in a baking rut, as i havent had the time and energy to bake as frequently as the summer but this new perspective has lit a fire under my ass, thank you :)
@@cg1906 Nice.
So, I’ve been reading the Gary Gygax novels. In the first ones there is an interesting concept where the beggars have an easier version of the thieves cant.
What really intrigued me, was that he also showed a Merchants cant that was used beteeen shopkeepers and market vendors to communicate between each other and the local guard. I always wanted to introduce it in a campaign as them peddling their wares and yelling something like “these items are just flying off the shelves” to mean “someone just stole some of my wares”. Or “you won’t find apples this red anywhere south of the fields” to mean “there’s a suspicious guy in a red hat, heading south to the Field Ward”.
Day two of me asking them to reinstate 'Cause I'm a Modern Rooooogguuuee" in the intro
Reading letters written in Thieves cant sounds like a game of reverse Mad Libs.
"That was a spicy round of hams! Let's slap again tomorrow."
My friends would understand this perfectly.
Translation: "I spotted a rich man, and I'm going to rob him, beat him over the head, and then run away."
That's my best guess anyway.
Thought the same thing
Hi you two, I just wanna say thank you both. You guys have gotten me through so many anxiety attacks it’s insane. Your good humour and consistently interesting videos have walked me through some dark places, thank you so much, you deserve all your success.
i love modern referencial slang so much. like if i say 'my twitter follower count got thanos snapped' then theres a large group of people who know that i mean it suddenly went down to half the amount, but theres a large amount of people who wouldnt have a CLUE what i meant, and i just think thats really cool
As a life-long DnD Rogue player, I propose we rename '"Thieve's Cant" to "DMs' Cant" because WHEN HAS A DM EVER USED THIEVES' CANT?!?!?!? THAT'S MY LVL1 ABILITY AND NOW IT'S WORTHLESS, YOU GREASY CRACK OF AN ACE-OF-SPADES!!!!
My guess for the example:
“I see the kid of a competent gambler (or other well-off adult). I’m gonna lure him into a trap, hold him hostage, and get ransom from the parent.”
You guys requested a modern equivalent to decipher, so here ya go:
"I ain't tryna beef with crabs, kinfolk. Game ain't just slangin' rock, they gonna body fools."
I’m not trying to fight with ,fishy people, people like me , life isn’t about burning bridges they are going to kill people
1st try
Beef = fight, slangin' rocks = dealing meth, body fools = kill fools. No idea about crabs or if kinfolk is a coded term, but I'm going to guess it means something like You're not going to start a fight with a rival drug gang since it's not just about the drugs, they are killing people.
@@Kaepsele337 is pretty close.
@@KickstandOptional Ah, Pretty sure the crabs you're referring to are the Bloods. You don't fuck with the Bloods because it's not just about crack at that point and they're gonna kill your dumb ass if you screw with their operation.
"I'm not trying to get shot by the crips, man. You gotta stay safe selling crack, or you get killed."
Growing up in LA had weird effects
Sees the title
*Rolls for initiative*
Ngl but this just sounds like drunken nonsense. But I love it
That's the idea lol
@@imperialphoenix1229 probably.
1. They could be discussing this over drinks at a tavern, so drunk speak can be expected there.
2. If not at a bar, who really is going to pay any mind to the drunks in the corner.
@@corison2058 precisely
What is Ngl??
@@workingstiff0586 Not Gonna Lie
NGL
My translation: "I saw the gaze of that curvy woman so I'm gonna get some cake, get drunk and make my move!"
I like this translation better then the actual one lmao
It looks like Jason really is starting to portray the old rouge whereas Brian seems like he is in the early stages of starting out in the rouge business and is training under him. XD
This reminds me of the code used to rescued “Gene” Hambleton in Vietnam because they knew the radios weren’t secure.
“Get in the Swanee and make like Esther Williams and Charlie the Tuna.”
“Get to the river swim across don’t get caught”
I know about Thieves’ Cant from D&D and honestly, as a channel named “The Modern Rogue”, this episode is LOOOOOOONNGGGG overdue.
internets' cant: just add "lmao jk" to the end of whatever you gonna say.
for example: im gonna commit an armed robbery on my neighbors house to steal at least $50,000 lmao jk
i'm gonna incite a violent insurrection to overthrow the government lmao jk roflcopter kek69420
We already have that, in Minecraft
I'm gonna drug a bunch of people and sell them into slavery lmao jk
haha.. just kidding.. unless?
i’m gonna commit war crimes and deal drugs satirically in the video game minecraft
"I passed this bougie babes crib this morning, thinkin about peeking in on it, maybe catch a drip, then breeze out." I'm being a bit liberal with the terms, but that ought to do as a sufficient translation.
I ran an adventure where the party was part of a traveling circus in the Sword Coast. One of the features of the circus is that they had a variant of Thieves' Cant called Circus Cant. Its function was basically the same as Thieves' Cant just tailored for the Carnie and their grifts. It was treated as a dialect, so players (and the carnies they ran with) could understand Thieves' Cant with some difficulty, but going the other way around was much harder. And while the D&D version of Thieves' Cant used a marking system similar to that of the Hobo Episode, Circus Cant didn't have any writing system. They didn't need it, since all the grifts and schemes the carnies would employ would be on their own turf. There was no need to mark anything, since they knew the grounds they operated in. That meant that the carnies used to Circus Cant would have no clue what the Thieves' Cant markings would mean based on Circus Cant. (Characters could still learn Thieves' Cant as well.)
This episode has taught me that human beings are very good at imagining a reality and then making that reality REAL.
A really good example of Thieves' Cant being used liberally and accurately is the Rogue questline in Final Fantasy XIV, all three of the Rogue NPCs use Thieves' Cant in every single sentence of their dialogue, and even as someone who only just found out they were speaking actual Cant (when I heard Jason say 'cloy') when it's used properly it's actually not that difficult to catch the meaning-- at least when reading it in dialogue.
My translation: "I've spotted the relative of the rich man/boss man. I'm gonna break into their house, get information (about Ace of Spades), and make sure they never speak of this again."
Jive talk comes to mind, which has similar roots at Thieve's cant, being as it's a combination of the dialect spoken primarily by a minority with other words and slang, some of which were common to criminals. It's memorably used in a pair of scenes in the 1980 comedy movie Airplane.
My MODERN rogue interpretation is "I've followed the fam' with the drip on Face with shades. I'm gonna strap the bass, claim the run and yeet the tapes"
As a scotsman, makeing sense of nonsense is kinda part of my lifestyle
Polari was the later version of this used in London. Many words have been absorbed into modern language. Made famous Kenneth Williams in the 1960’s.
Congrats, you've made it onto the D&D sphere with this one.
In the east end of London, they created a language called cockney rhyming slang. Indeed cockney refers to the people that lived in that area of London (near the bells of Bow). This language has phrases like : Jam jar = car; apple and pears =stairs; trouble and strife = wife; uncle ted =bed ; Wallace and gromit vomit etc...
Can't stay but hope everyone enjoys the stream and can't wait to watch this when I get a chance!
Here is my guess
“I spotted the (child) of a (rich) (fancy person). I’m gonna (break windows), (take) the (wealth), and (escape) the (gossip).”
I think "squeak" is more along the line of 'quiet', and chattering can be quite loud, so "squeak the chatt" may be 'be silent'
That was what I came up with too. Then worked out that breaking windows meant "kennel" ( house) instead of "child". Liked the use of squeak as in squeaky clean!
interesting note about Thieves' Cant is that there is a much less well-known variant originating in Southeast Asia that we only know by the name Thieves' _Cantonese._
Polari was a fairly common cant in Britain used by "lowly" people (sex workers, criminals, gay men, actors) from like the 1800s until the 50s or so. It used a lot of rhyming slang as well as words from Romani, Italian, and Yiddish. We still have a few words from it like butch, camp, ogle, trade (as in "rough trade"), zhoosh, and troll (as in "to walk around suspiciously.")
if you're looking for more secret languages to decipher, you could always do an episode on Polari? it's another british argot that was used primarily by gay people and certain types of performers (actors, circus showmen, wrestlers, etc.)
Bubble and squeak is normal British English, I promise you.
Bubble an squeak is a name for a meal.
it's also not cabbage and beef, it's cabbage and mash potatoes
@@1224chrisng It was beef till around 1951 an the rations in ww2 it was a way of using left overs but due to the war an food rations there weren't much leftover.
It’s a nice fry-up and also slang for Greek
@@Tcoldsteel There's a few meanings if your talking cockney rhyming slang, Greek. Beak - a magistrate. Week, or having a piss, as in taking a leak. Probably others tho.
This is similar to Cockney Rhyming Slang from back in the mid 18th century in London. It was made by market traders and the phrases were rhymes of the original word (Porky Pies = Lies, Apples and Pears = Stairs, Trouble and Strife = Wife). It's now just used in day to day conversation by some people from that area of London and other parts of Britain.
Ah heck yes Ive been waiting for this!!
Nothing to do with thievery, but as hidden languages go, Polari is always a good one
Nice try Nancy.
Translation: I saw the heat signature of a mud covered modern rogue. I'm gonna buy his clothing, subscribe to his content, and use his promo code down in the description
In our dnd campaign we use thives can't as markings and lil notes around big cities only those with thives cant can understand but this is a whole new level
I love this episode and I love that Brian brought up Discoverie of Witchcraft!
"I spotted the arm of a Holdout. I'm gonna get his attention, butter him up, and strike a deal."
No matter how many times I hear Jason say that phrase, I can't get over the fact he can use a glottal stop correctly.
Trucker language is an excellent example of this. And I think the use of it on, "Butn Notice", is a great example of a code in a code.
aaaaahhhh I was playing D&D and I was HOPING you'd make a video about this one day.
1: Have some hot tea. Karen had that drip, finna yoink the gucci and yeet on outta there.
2: No cap, Eboy had that drip. Fit was gucci, finna yoink n dip. ( Man that sounds like the Steve Buscemi whattup fellow kids meme.)
Note: for the people not well versed in Zoomer lingo, they say basically the same thing. ( Dude had the nice clothes. Going to snag em and gtfo) 1st one is more older Zoomer, and the 2nd is closer to the TikTok Zoomer lingo.
Lemme translate a bit more.
1."Listen to this. I saw a middle-aged soccer mom with some nice clothes, right? I'm gonna snatch her valuables/expensive accessories and promptly haul ass."
2."I'm not lying, that eboy (Just look up the term eboy on Google Images and you'll get a decent idea. It originally referred to a specific kind of person, but it kinda just evolved into a style on it's own.) had some nice clothes. Like, his clothes were _good._ I'm about to swipe them and run."
At this point, I'm thinking of making a dictionary for this kind of thing. Hell, I'll start now. Just promise you won't use these around your kids.
Tea: The closest translation for this would probably be gossip. For example, "spilling the tea" means sharing some juicy gossip or any information that's especially telling. _Hot_ tea is kinda just a variation, but could also be used as "juicy" is.
Karen: A middle-aged white woman that looks like the type to go apeshit on a cashier at a Chipotle for saying she needs to wear a mask. You know the type.
Drip: Nice clothes/style. I have no idea why a Karen would have that drip, but that oxymoron just helps show what "drip" is usually defined as, so I wouldn't change it.
Finna: About to/I'm gonna
Yoink: Snatch/swipe.
Gucci: Could refer to the actual Gucci brand, but could also just refer to expensive clothes/accessories in general. Alternatively, gucci can be used as a synonym with words such as good/nice. For example, "those shoes look gucci" means those shoes look nice, and "I'm gucci" means I'm good/fine.
Yeet: Get out. Alternatively, it's primarily used as a word that means "throw" or an exclamation while throwing or punching or something.
No cap: I'm not lying/no lie. To elaborate, "capping" is lying.
Fit: Clothes/outfit.
Dip: Leave, GTFO. Essentially a synonym for the first definition of yeet.
Eboy: Originally defined as a guy who pretends to be edgy/goth to get girls and is really kind of an asshole. Kinda like a neo-emo except they aren't really emo. Over time, all kinds of zoomers started using their style because it actually looks kinda cool. Again, look it up on Google Images or Urban Dictionary for a bit more info.
@@anxietyprimev6983 in all due fairness, zoomer speak is easy to understand when we all get the references.
@@skoomaaddict1010 I'm really more just translating for anybody who isn't a zoomer, honestly. It's damn obvious to everybody our age, but the geezers in the chat might be confused.
@@anxietyprimev6983 decided to sliiiiightly tweak it. Any suggestions?
@@skoomaaddict1010 I dunno, you could incorporate some gamer lingo in there.
Translation: Saw an important rich person's family member. Gonna mug him, kidnap him, and hold him for random.
*ransom
@@Povilaz autocorrect. You're right.
That was my first thought, too.
I cant find witch dictionary they are using the top site one is mostly gibberish
Love the modern rogue. From the big New Hampshire rogue thank you guys for helping me become a better warrior gentleman scoundrel.
My guess at the translation:
Ken = man or house
Ace of spades = death or maybe money
Snap the glaze = break a window
Cloy the rum = steal what I can
Squeak the chatts = run like hell
So he saw a nice house and is going to bust a window nick what he can and leg it
Edit: Wasn’t too far off
My guess translation: "I see a rich guy, I'm going to hit him, steal his stuff, and run away."
I had zero idea of what it meant, but loved the sound!
Have you ever heard of cryptophasia? It's a language made up by twins that only the twins themselves can understand. I'd love to see what you guys can do with that.
Trucker slang immediately came to mind since it is likewise intended to secure communication between those in the know in a situation where anyone could be listening. Both trucker slang and thieves cant also have an aspect of identifying if someone is "cool" based on what they do or do not know. This use for identifying group members also shows up a lot in online cultures (E.g. 4Chan where in theory you could be told to "Lurk moar" if you say the wrong thing and out yourself as a noob).
Cockney slang was a form of cant originally. It was used as a was for workers to unionize and talk about unionizing at work with out their bosses knowing or understanding
"I've Found a man named Ken with a lot of money, I'm gonna steal his glazed donut, drink his rum and speak with a high voice to him."
Translation: spotted a good house, I will break in, steal stuff, and escape.
Bubble and Squeak is amazing for any of you across the pond who have never tried it.
I found the handle of a shovel. I'm gonna plow the snow, spread the icemelt, and clean the driveway.
My french brain is amused to hear Jason saying argot without pronouncing the T :3
Monsieur Murphy, chapeau bas for your pronounciation :D
about decoding : in france we had a sort of language called Verlant (à l'enver or backward) usually used in addition of argot.
and funny enough there is verlant of verlant : feumeu is the verlant of meuf which the verlant of femme
This is why everyone hates French xD its a giant jumble of letters and half of them are silent, and the other have are not pronounced like you think lmao
@@TheCrypto34 have you tried Russian before saying that ?
@@jeffmaesar Russian is in another world of its own. Cursive Russian is just scribbles
Did you know: Thieves can't steal legally.
I steal legally all the time
@@littlehomiefrank9791
How u doge in?
Wait they _CAN'T?_
I can steal ur heart. That is absolutely legal.
Not with that attitude they can't.
Describing skateboarding tricks and obstacles sounds like a secret language. "Stomped a back 50 on that hubba, gonna go back for it" translates to "landed on my skateboard but didn't roll away after grinding with both trucks on that ledge that goes down those stairs. I'm going to try again for a proper land".
Also our secret code at my old job in a theatre. "Hey how is line 3 looking stage right?" aka "How hot is the dancer stage right under line set 3?" Line set is the pipe used to hang curtains/lighting.
I think is saying “I have seen the child of a rich nobleman, and thus it is my duty to steal his money, rum and chiclets, the most delicious gum on the market which you can get at a discounted price from me. Just don’t ask how I got them. So was I close?
"I found the home of a rich person. I am going to break a window steal the mark, and get out clean before anyone can catch me."
Thought process:
Ken = kennel, a kennel is a shelter. Equipt = drip in modern slang = being well off financially. Ace of Spades = person because that would be the 'equipt' subject being referenced, in this case probably some old money noble. Snap the glaze = break a window because that is just too obvious. Cloy the rum = steal the rum, probably not meant to be taken literally so therefore rum probably just means a targeted valuable. Squeak the chatts = escape/make it out clean because squeaky clean is something we still say today. Chatts, given my context, would probably mean the authorities so therefore squeak the chatts = make it out clean before I can be caught.
Love the videos keep them coming
I'd love to see the rouges tackle the modern street speak in London. The language of the "Roadmen".
Guees: "I spotted the captain of the police, I'm going to flush the drugs, hide the rum, and bribe the media"?
Who is Hunter Biden.
Oh.....wrong game.
That would be the Politician's Cant, not the Thieves' Cant. :p
Thieves’ cant is good but everyone trembles in fear when I pull up and start speaking Druidic
*Laughs in undercommon*
My rough understanding of the... words that Jason spouted.
"I saw (or found) the house of a well-off (rich) widow. I'm going to break in, steal something valuable, and escape... prosecution(?)"
Edit: My D&D party more often than not has a rogue and the player actually does use some variation of Theives' Cant. Makes conversation a pain in the rear end but, eh, I guess it helped here.
Back slag is still in use today in the UK by market traders. I learnt a fair bit of it while working as a butcher. It's a good way to talk about people who are infront of you, or how to give people the stock you need to clear before it goes off....
My attempt to translate before the reveal (First time doing this): “I spotted the Ken of an equipt Ace of Spades.” Can equate to “I spotted a lawmaker with an Exicutionor” or “I spotted a Lawmaker with a bought thief.” And “I’m gonna Snap the Glaze, Cloy the Rum, and Squeak the Chatts.” Which... Uh.... “I’m going to get out of dodge, Grab the goods, and call out the rouge who was bought.” Or maybe “Tell everyone to do the same”?
My best "guess the cant".
I'm guessing "ken" is "kin" now a days. So "the kid of".
"equipt Ace of spades" is likely a wealthy house, with guards. Likely a noble house.
"Snap the glaze" might be "Get the gaze", so "get the attention of,".
"Cloy the rum" is probably "Get him drunk".
and "Squeak the chatts", or "get him chatting about things, he shouldn't be chatting about". Like specific items, locations, guards, schedules, and possible ways in. Hell, get him drunk enough he might just "take me home".
So all together it would be.
"I found a kid from one of the noble houses. I'm going to chat 'em up, get 'em drunk, and see if I can learn a safe way into the estate."
slang was also a huge thing where i lived. ive been trying to remember some of the more strange ones.
"eddie janked a stack of tallboys from wally in a shot. made it to the heights for the rager"
I'm in a DnD game that spent some time in an urban setting. Here's some overheard thieves cant the DM gave us:
"Uncle is very upset. A small gathering got out of hand. Uncle said our brother served cold pig at his garden party up in the High Estates. He was drunk on a lot of uncle's damned daughter's very best new booze. It's made our bakery look bad. I think uncle is planning to plant a tree on this one. The magpie won't be allowed to roost there either. Go carouse with the stone masons. Ask them to let you know if someone is looking to trade new booze for granite or tin."
I don't have the translation our rogue gave us on hand, but here's my best memory of it:
"The Guildmaster is pissed. Guildmaster said one of our men up in the High Estates district. He got away with
Cockney Rhyming Slang grew as an argot between London Costermongers (street hawkers). With costers often selling to the poor and drawing from poorer and migrant communities they were subject to a lot of harassment by the authorities. They were known to use backwards words (e.g. Yob for Boy) but moved on to rhyming slang which drew a lot from Yiddish and the Jewish community in North & East London.
"I heard where the mark was, and he's armed. Gonna go be friendly with him, get him drunk, and slit his throat".
Ken is an older form of "know", so "I spotted the knowledge". Equipt makes me think armed, Ace of Spades is the big card, probably means the mark.
Snap the glaze, makes me think of bread glaze, break bread. Cloy the rum, cloy the rum. Squeak the chatts, stop him from being able to speak, probably by murder, probably by the throat.
Iv generally refered to it as language games & see little versions everywhere especially the UK. East London roadman is beautifully expressive & brummie is incredibly lyrical, RP & language geared towards academia would be good to decipher
If someone figures out how, send Brian and Jason a letter that incorporates an actual message, a message in thieve's cant, and a carton grill message. and have the whole thing in one cohesive message. this is the secret extra credit option.
I spent high-hours pounding the buckles to get into the crystal palace. I had to whistle the line to escape charges from the bell. When I finally did and was surfing the glass I started to have some deep magic on my deck and had to start over. I couldn't get back in because the glass of my skreetch box was broke and now my flat cassette is down 125 replacing it.
Snap the glaze was pretty straightforward.
That intro was amazing!
My brother and I used to have gestures and words we’d slip in to conversations to trick kids during games where we were teamed up. We had whole maneuvers and things summed up in a couple words and a glance
Great video! Polari (stylised from Spanish Parlare) was a 'slanguage' for early LGBTQ+ subculture in Britain, and is where we get words like 'camp'
I'd like to see an episode on shorthand and alternative writing systems like Orthic or Vianaic, please
What comes to mind is Calo, a style of speech used by 2nd and 3rd generation Mexican-American youth. It combines Spanish, English, and African American slang and puts in in rhyme patterns to give it flare. There are some examples of it in Blood In Blood Out.
Cockney rhyming slang is very similar to this. And a lot of that have become regular words used throughout the UK everyday.
For a modern version. "Im gunna pullup, hop out the wip, pop a cap, dip, roll one otw then we can spark up"