TagPrison slang

Shank Weapon

A prison employee wants to know about the term shank, that name for sharp weapons made with toothbrushes and pieces of metal. It derives from shank in the sense of the type of animal bone historically used in weapon making. This is part of a...

Sancho

What’s the correct term for the male lover of a married woman? The hosts share suggestions from listeners, including paramour and sancho. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sancho” When we took the call about what...

joint rag

joint rag  n.— «Magazines produced by prisoners are called “joint rags.”» —“A convict’s look at life on the inside” in Carleton University Carleton Newsroom (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) July 21, 2009...

keister

keister  v.— «The inmates know officials are looking for the phones and are going to great lengths to hide them, he said. It’s tough, officials admit, because some of the phones are small enough to be, in prison parlance, “keistered...