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Dec 14, 2009
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Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—T

Thieves' Latin

Slang; dog, or dog's Latin; gibberish.

“What did actually reach his ears was disguised so completely by the use of cant words and the thieves' Latin, called slang, that he ... could make no sense of the conversation.” —Sir W. Scott: Redyauntlet, chap. xiii.

“He can vent Greek and Hebrew as fast as I can thieves' Latin.” —Sir W. Scott: Kenilworth, chap. xxix.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Thieves on the Cross
Thief
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More on Thieves' Latin from Infoplease:

  • Thieves' Latin - Thieves' Latin Slang; dog, or dog's Latin; gibberish. “What did actually reach his ...
  • Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: T - Definitions, origins, and illustrative excerpts for words, phases, and literary allusions starting with "T"
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