Jottings From Jail

Excerpt from Jottings From Jail: Notes and Papers on Prison Matters I have to thank Miss Manville Fenn for the design for the cover. It represents a selection from my private collection of burglarious implements; some jemmies 0: sticks (anglice, crowbars), one of which was presented me by him whose autobiography opens this book because he thought it would be safer with me than with him 3. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Davitt drafts on many topics while a prisoner in solitary confinement in Portland Convict Prison, 1881-2

First published in 1897, “A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant” includes definitions for a wide range of contemporary slang-English words, as well as those relating to American, Anglo-Indian slang, pidgin English, “gypsies' jargon”, and other interesting contemporary phraseology. English is a language that has been forever changing, gaining vibrancy and colour from many other languages, countries, cultures and communities. This volume explores some of the influences, providing definitions, examples, etymological information, and more. Highly recommended for all lovers of the English Language. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction.

This book continues Julie Coleman's acclaimed history of dictionaries of English slang and cant. It describes the increasingly systematic and scholarly way in which such terms were recorded and classified in the UK, the USA, Australia, and elsewhere, and the huge growth in the publication of and public appetite for dictionaries, glossaries, and guides to the distinctive vocabularies of different social groups, classes, districts, regions, and nations. Dr Coleman describes the origins of words and phrases and explores their history. By copious example she shows how they cast light on everyday life across the globe - from settlers in Canada and Australia and cockneys in London to gang-members in New York and soldiers fighting in the Boer and First World Wars - as well as on the operations of the narcotics trade and the entertainment business and the lives of those attending American colleges and British public schools. The slang lexicographers were a colourful bunch. Those featured in this book include spiritualists, aristocrats, socialists, journalists, psychiatrists, school-boys, criminals, hoboes, police officers, and a serial bigamist. One provided the inspiration for Robert Lewis Stevenson's Long John Silver. Another was allegedly killed by a pork pie. Julie Coleman's account will interest historians of language, crime, poverty, sexuality, and the criminal underworld.