Depending on when you were born, you’ll observe that people change and invent new nicknames. In the same way, Inmates have developed their prison slang language to describe common activities and items encountered on the inside.
If you want to learn more about jail life, you should add some real-world prison language to your vocabulary. Look through these examples of jail slang to learn more about a variety of terms.
There Are Prison Slangs For Staff Members
Convicts address staff members by a variety of other names for their convenience.
A “C.O.” is a correctional officer, and an untrustworthy prison staff member is referred to as a “bug” by convicts. Moreover, a new C.O will be dubbed a “cowboy” by several inmates. If someone informs a CO or unit personnel about anything they don’t already know they are referred to as Snitch
A “Duck” is a naïve and easily persuaded correctional officer. Ducks are particularly popular because they may be tricked into smuggling contraband. Similarly, A Bug is a member of the jail staff who is seen as untrustworthy or unreliable.
The staff is also referred to by a variety of words, such as “white shirts” and “blue shirts,” which refers to an officer’s rank.
The captain is a guard who wears a white shirt and is in authority. The blue shirts, on the other hand, are the lower-ranking guards.
Some Interesting Names For Food As Well!
There are numerous terminologies used in prison life when it comes to eating.
Cooks are referred to as “brownies” in some jails. Chow is called a meal served in a prison. Whereas, while the dining hall is referred to as “chow hall“.
Inmates in cells where food is brought regularly may have a “bean slot,” which is a hole in the cell door large enough for the food tray.
DOBIE is named after a biscuit or roll named after the Spanish word “adobe,” which means “brick.” And Erasers are the Chicken pieces that have been processed.
Additionally, CTQ stands for Confined to Quarters. The detainee is confined to their cell except for meals as a disciplinary consequence.
Even Prison Slang For Time Is Different
Prisoners often use times like all day or flat time to refer to type of sentences that they have been given in jail. Typically all day means a life sentence and flat time means they are here for a specific length of time.
You are doing a one-year sentence if you are doing a “bullet.” 12/12 means completing your full sentence. Five years if you are doing is called a “nickel. There’s also the phrase “first time down,” which refers to the first time you’ve been locked up.
Tear-drop is called a ten-year prison. C.c. is the name of a prisoner who has already been imprisoned and is serving a second sentence. Dime refers to a 10-year bid that means ten years serving a sentence. While “All Day and Night” denotes life without the possibility of parole.
Secrets Name For Alcohol and Drugs
Because alcohol and beverages are strictly prohibited in prison, alcoholics devise new methods of producing alcohol, which they refer to as Hooch.
Hooch is a fermented alcoholic beverage created at home with sugar, fruit or juice, and yeast. It’s fermented in an airtight bag or dish.
Many inmates are drug addicts who are unable to say the names of the drugs in front of staff workers, therefore they adopt their slang for narcotics.
For example, they usually call Bug juice for Intoxicants or depressant drugs.
Roadkill is referred to Prison workgroup picks up cigarette butts from the side of the road. They’re returned to the facility, where the tobacco is collected and rerolled with toilet paper for smoking.
Inmates who require psychiatric medicines for mental illness frequently utilize the words brake fluid and Ding Wing. Brake fluid is mental medicine, while Ding Wing alludes to a prison’s psychiatric unit for inmates. Stainless Steel Ride refers to death caused by injection.
Some Random Slang Words That We Found
- Catch a ride: A request for a ride from a friend.
- A PAY PHONE is also known as a STRESS BOX.
- Cell Warrior: A prisoner who puts on a tough front or speaks loudly when trapped in his or her cell, but is submissive or cowardly when interacting with other inmates in the open.
- Chin Check: A punch to the jaw of a fellow inmate to see if he will fight back.
- STORE. Inmates discuss going “shopping,” which they refer to as filling out the commissary delivery form.
- STRAPPED: When someone has a weapon on them.
- SUCKER DUCKER: Someone who goes to great lengths to avoid persons who bring problems.
- Cowboy: A brand-new corrections officer. Cowboy is yobwoc, which means “young, obnoxious, bastard we frequently con.”
- Programmer: A jail geek, a programmer is an inmate who is always in class.
- Prison wine, or toilet wine, is known as Pruno. It’s a type of handmade alcoholic beverage made with fruit, bread, and anything sweet.
- Real Talk: A prisoner’s way of expressing “I’m serious.”
- Shiv is a self-made knife.
- Medications and pills are represented by skittles.
That’s It!
Because jail is such a rich environment for conversation, inmates eventually develop their own spoken language or jargon known as prison slang.
It is mixture of street slang, juvenile slang, rhyming slang, and prisoners’ native accents. It’s difficult to tell how it’s seen by the outside world, but for inmates, jail language makes sense and makes communication easier.