Prison life, often shrouded in mystery, has its own unique language. From popular television shows like “Oz” and “Prison Break” to classic films like “The Shawshank Redemption,” depictions of prison culture often feature cryptic slang. This comprehensive glossary decodes common prison slang terms, offering a glimpse into the communication methods and realities of life behind bars.
Inside the Walls: Understanding Prison Communication
Prison slang serves several purposes. It fosters a sense of community among inmates, creating a shared language that separates them from the outside world. It also provides a way to discuss sensitive topics, like contraband or illicit activities, without alerting guards. Furthermore, slang can be used to intimidate or threaten other inmates, establishing a power dynamic within the prison hierarchy.
This glossary aims to provide insight into this complex communication system, exploring the meanings and origins of various slang terms. It’s important to note that some terms contain adult language and themes. Reader discretion is advised.
A-C: From Aryan Brotherhood to Chow Time
- AB: Aryan Brotherhood, a notorious white supremacist prison gang. Membership is strictly by invitation.
- Agitator: An inmate who deliberately instigates fights for entertainment.
- All Day: Life sentence.
- All Day and a Night: Life sentence without parole.
- Bats: Cigarettes.
- Back Door Parole: Dying in prison.
- BB Filler (Body Bag Filler): A gravely ill inmate.
- Bean Slot: The food delivery slot in a cell door.
- Bid: A prison sentence.
- Binky: A makeshift syringe crafted from an eyedropper, pen shaft, and guitar string.
- Blues: Prison uniform, often blue in color.
- Bo-Bos: Prison-issued sneakers.
- Books: Stamps used as currency in some prisons, or an inmate’s trust account.
- Boss: Term used by inmates to refer to correctional officers.
- Brake Fluid: Psychiatric medications, especially liquid Thorazine.
- Brogans: Prison-issued work boots.
- Brownies: Kitchen staff, often wearing brown uniforms.
- Bullet: A one-year prison sentence.
- Bundle: A small package of drugs or tobacco.
- Bunkie: Cellmate.
- Buck Rogers Time: A prison sentence with a distant parole date.
- Cadillac: Coffee with cream and sugar, or an inmate’s bunk.
- Cadillac Job: A desirable and easy work assignment.
- Cage: A prison cell.
- Calling the Cops: Creating a disturbance to attract guards’ attention.
- Car: A prison clique demanding unwavering loyalty.
- Catch a Ride: To get high using someone else’s drugs.
- Catching the Chain: Leaving jail.
- Cellie: Cellmate.
- Cell Warrior: An inmate who acts tough in their cell but cowardly in person.
- Chalk: Prison-made moonshine.
- Chatted Out: Mentally unstable due to imprisonment.
- Chin Check: Punching someone in the jaw to test their fighting spirit.
- Choke Sandwich: A peanut butter sandwich (without jelly).
- Chomo: Child molester.
- Chow: A prison meal.
- Chronic (Chronic Discipline Unit): Housing for inmates with numerous disciplinary infractions.
- Clavo (Spanish for “nail”): Dangerous contraband.
- C/O: Correctional officer.
- Cowboy: A new correctional officer.
- Crossed Out: Unfairly removed from a desirable area or job.
- CTQ (Confined to Quarters): Disciplinary action restricting an inmate to their cell.
D-F: From Dancing on the Blacktop to Fresh Meat
- Dance on the Blacktop: Getting stabbed.
- Dap: A prison greeting involving fist bumping.
- Diaper Sniper: An inmate accused of child molestation.
- Ding Wing: Mental health ward.
- Dime: A ten-year prison sentence.
- Dinner and a Show: Watching inmate fights and guard interventions during mealtime.
- Dobie: A biscuit or roll.
- Doing the Dutch: Committing suicide in prison.
- Dotted Up: Having tattoos.
- Drop a Slip: Snitching on another inmate in writing.
- Dropped: Forcibly tackling an inmate to the ground.
- Dry Snitching: Indirectly informing on another inmate through loud talk.
- Duck: A gullible correctional officer easily bribed or manipulated.
- Dump Truck: An overweight, lazy inmate.
- Education: Area for GED classes, library, and other educational resources.
- Erasers: Pieces of processed chicken.
- Eyeball: Staring at someone with potentially hostile intentions.
- Fair One: A fistfight without weapons.
- Fiend: An inmate addicted to something.
- Fish: A new inmate, unfamiliar with prison culture.
- Fishing Line: String made from torn sheets used to pass contraband.
- Fishing Pole: Device used to retrieve items passed through fishing lines.
- Flick: A photograph or magazine picture.
- Fresh Meat: A group of new inmates.
- Frequent Flier: An inmate incarcerated repeatedly.
- Funky: An inmate with poor hygiene.
G-I: From Gen Pop to Iron Pile
- Gen Pop: General population inmates.
- Getting Buzzed: Getting a prison tattoo.
- Going Psych: Exhibiting severe mental illness requiring transfer to a psychiatric unit.
- Got a Body: Claiming to have killed someone, often a boast.
- Grapes: Information or gossip.
- Green Light: Permission to kill a rival gang member on sight.
- Gump: A homosexual inmate.
- Gunning: Masturbating in front of a correctional officer.
- Heat Wave: Increased scrutiny due to an inmate’s wrongdoing.
- High Class: Hepatitis C.
- Hoe Check: A group beating to test an inmate’s resilience.
- Hole (The): Solitary confinement.
- Hooch: Homemade alcoholic beverage.
- Hoop: Hiding contraband in a bodily cavity.
- Hot One: A murder charge.
- Hot Water: Warning of a guard’s presence.
- House: A prison cell.
- In the Cut: Hiding in a secluded area.
- Iron Pile: Weightlifting equipment.
J-L: From Jack Book to Lockdown
- Jack Book: Any magazine with pictures of women.
- Jail (verb): To serve time effectively without trouble.
- J-Cat: An inmate with mental health issues.
- Jit or Jitterbug: A loud, troublesome inmate who spreads gossip.
- Jody: A man involved with an inmate’s wife or girlfriend.
- Juice Card: An inmate’s influence or connections.
- June Bug: A weak inmate exploited by others.
- Keister: To conceal contraband in the anus.
- Kickstand: Life sentence (referencing the “L” shape).
- Kite: A contraband note.
- Kitty Kitty: Term for a female correctional officer.
- Kung Fu Joes: Poorly made prison-issued shoes.
- Lame Duck: A vulnerable inmate alone in the yard.
- La Raza: Unaffiliated Mexican inmates.
- LOC (Loss of Commissary): Disciplinary action.
- LOM (Loss of Personal Mail): Disciplinary action.
- LOR (Loss of Recreation): Disciplinary action.
- LOV (Loss of Visits): Disciplinary action.
- Lockdown: Confining all inmates to their cells due to a disturbance.
- Lock-in-a-Sock: A makeshift weapon.
M-O: From Malinger to On the Door
- Malinger: To walk slowly.
- Mando: Short for mandatory.
- Meat Wagon: Ambulance for transporting sick or deceased inmates.
- Mofongo: A prison meal made from various ingredients.
- Molly Whopped: To beat or be beaten in a fight.
- Monkey Mouth: A talkative but uninteresting inmate.
- Monster (The): HIV/AIDS.
- Netted Up: Experiencing a mental breakdown.
- New Booties: First-time inmates.
- Newjacks: Inexperienced correctional officers.
- Nickel: A five-year prison sentence.
- Ninja (The): HIV/AIDS or STDs.
- Ninja Turtles: Guards in riot gear.
- O.G.: Original gangster, a term of respect for veteran inmates.
- On Paper: Parole or probation.
- On the Count: Instruction to prepare for a headcount.
- On the Door: Preparing to leave one’s cell.
P-R: From Papa to Roll Up Your Window
- Papa: A prison snack made from chips, cheese sauce, and hot water.
- PC (Protective Custody): Solitary confinement for protection.
- Permanent Pocket: Anus.
- Playing on Ass: Gambling without money.
- Porcelain Termite: An inmate who damages plumbing fixtures in anger.
- Porch: Small area outside a cell door.
- Prison Pocket: Anus.
- Prison Safe: Hiding place for contraband during inspections.
- Prison Wolf: A straight inmate engaging in homosexual activity.
- Programmer: An inmate focused on self-improvement through classes.
- Pruno: Homemade prison wine.
- Pumpkins: New inmates or gang initiates with swollen heads from beatings.
- Quiet Time: Period after lights out.
- Ratchette: A nurse.
- Rec: Recreation time.
- Ride Leg: To flatter staff for favors.
- Robocop: A strict guard who writes up every infraction.
- Roll Call: A gang meeting or the start of a guard’s shift.
- Road Dog: A close friend in prison.
- Road Kill: Discarded cigarette butts collected for tobacco.
- Roll Up Your Window: Request to stop eavesdropping.
S-U: From Sancho to UA
- Sancho: The man involved with an inmate’s wife/girlfriend.
- Shakedown: A cell search for contraband.
- Shank: A homemade knife.
- Shiv: Another term for a shank.
- Shot Caller: A high-ranking inmate, often a gang leader.
- Skid-Bid: A very short prison sentence.
- Skippies: Thin, laceless prison shoes.
- Sleep on Steel: Having bedding removed, often due to suicide risk.
- Slock: A lock-in-a-sock weapon.
- Slop: Unpopular prison food, a loose casserole.
- Slug: An inmate who rarely leaves their cell.
- Six-Five: Warning of a guard’s approach.
- Spider Monkey: An inmate serving a long sentence.
- Stainless-Steel Ride: Lethal injection.
- Stinger: A device for boiling water.
- Store: Commissary.
- Strapped: Carrying a weapon.
- Stress Box: A pay phone.
- Sucker Ducker: An inmate who avoids troublemakers.
- Take Flight: To attack someone with fists.
- Three Knee Deep: To stab someone non-fatally as a warning.
- Ticket: A disciplinary report.
- Ticketron or Ticketmaster: A guard who issues many disciplinary reports.
- Time to Feed the Warden: Needing to use the bathroom.
- Toochie or Tuchie: Synthetic marijuana.
- Tuck: To conceal contraband in a body cavity.
- Turtle Suit: A padded restraint gown for suicide prevention.
- TVP: Textured Vegetable Protein, a meat substitute.
- UA: Urinalysis (drug test).
V-Z: From Vampire to Zoo Zoos
- Vampire: An inmate who draws blood during fights.
- Vic: An inmate being victimized.
- Viking: A lazy, unhygienic inmate.
- Wolf Tickets: Empty threats or promises.
- Wham Whams: Sweets like cookies and candy.
- X’d Out: Targeted for death by a gang.
- Yard: The outdoor recreation area.
- Zoo Zoos: Sweets like cookies and candy.
This glossary offers a glimpse into the complex language of prison life. Understanding these terms can provide valuable context for interpreting depictions of prison culture in media and gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges and realities faced by inmates.
