Bien Darkmans then, Bouse Mort and Ken,
The bien Coves bings awast,
On Chates to trine by Rome Coves dine,
For his long lib at last.
Bing’d out bien Morts and toure, and toure,
Bing out of the Rome vile bine,
And toure the Cove that cloyd your duds,
Vpon the Chates to trine.
Having even wearied ourselves with drinking and singing, we tumbled promiscuously together, Male and Female in Straw, not confining our selves to one constant Consort, we made use of the first that came to hand; by which means incests and Adulteries became our pastimes. By this means I grew weary of their practices, and therefore resolved to desert them as soon as the first opportunity should offer it self, which was in a short time; wherefore at the present I shall say no more of them, only give me leave to give some small account of their Language. The first Inventor of Canting, as I am informed, was Hanged about four score years since: such Gibberish was never heard of before; since which time, there hath not been wanting such, who have taken pains in the pollishing, refining, and augmenting that Language of the Devils Imps. It is a confused invention of words; for its Dialect I cannot find to be grounded on any certain Rules; and no wonder since the Founders and Practicers thereof, are the chief Fathers and Nourishers of Disorder. Yet even out of that Irregularity a man may observe some kind of form, and some words do retain something of Scholarship, as Togeman, a Gown, from Toga; Pannam, from Panis Bread; Cosan, Caseus, Cheese. The monosyllable Cheat; we use as a Relative, as Nab, a Head; Nab-cheat, a Hat, &c. Cove or Cuffin is in general terms a Man; but by adding bien, which signifies good or well, or Quire, which is wicked or Knavish; you make the word Cove signifie an Honest man, or a Justice of Peace. Pardon the expression, for they call a Justice Quier Cuffin; that is to say, as before mentioned, a wicked, knavish, or foolish man. To conclude, I shall here insert this little Canting Vocabulary Alphabetically,
| Avtem Mort | A married Woman | ||
| Abram | Naked | ||
| Abram Cove | A Tatter demallion | ||
| Autem | A Church | ||
| Bughar | A Cur | ||
| Bouse | Drink | ||
| Bousing Ken | An Ale-house | ||
| Borde | A Shilling | ||
| Boung | A Purse | ||
| Bien | Good or well | ||
| Benshiply | Very well | ||
| Benar | Better | ||
| Bing | To go | ||
| Bing a waste | To go away | ||
| Bube | The Pox | ||
| Bufe | A Dog | ||
| Bleating cheat | A Sheep | ||
| Belly cheat | An Apron | ||
| Betty | An Instrument to break a door | ||
| Bite the Peter or Roger | Steal the Portmantle or Cloak-bag. | ||
| Budge | One that steals Cloaks | ||
| Bulk and File | The Pick-pocket and his mate | ||
| Cokir | A Lyar | ||
| Cove | ⎫ | ||
| ⎬ | A Man | ||
| Cuffin | ⎭ | ||
| Cuffin-Quire | A Justice of Peace | ||
| Cramprings | Bolt or Shackles | ||
| Chats | The Gallows | ||
| Canke | Dumb | ||
| Crackmans | Hedges | ||
| Calle | ⎫ | ||
| Togeman | ⎬ | A Cloak | |
| Joseph | ⎭ | ||
| Couch | To lye or sleep | ||
| Couch a Hogshead | To go to sleep | ||
| Commission | ⎫ | ||
| ⎬ | A Shirt | ||
| Mish | ⎭ | ||
| Cackling cheat | A Chicken | ||
| Cassan | Cheese | ||
| Crash | To kill | ||
| Crashing cheats | Teeth | ||
| Cloy | To steal | ||
| Cut | To speak | ||
| Cut bien whids | To speak well | ||
| Cut quire whids | To speak evilly | ||
| Confeck | Counterfeit | ||
| Cannakin | The Plague | ||
| Cly the Jerk | To be whipt | ||
| Clapperdogeon | A Beggar born | ||
| Culle | A Sap-headed Fellow | ||
| Dimber | Pretty | ||
| Damber | Rascal | ||
| Drawers | Stockings | ||
| Duds | Goods | ||
| Deusea-vile | The Country | ||
| Dommerar | A Mad-man | ||
| Darkmans | Night or evening | ||
| Doxie | ⎫ | ||
| ⎬ | A Wench | ||
| Dell | ⎭ | ||
| Dock | ⎫ | ||
| ⎬ | To —— | ||
| Wap | ⎭ | ||
| Deuswins | Two pence | ||
| Dup | To enter. | ||
| Earnest | A part | ||
| As tip me my Earnest | Give me my part or share | ||
| Frummagem | Choakt | ||
| Filch | A Staff | ||
| Ferme | A Hole | ||
| Fambles | Hands | ||
| Famble chears | Rings or Gloves | ||
| Fib | To beat | ||
| Flag | A Groat | ||
| Fogus | Tobacco or Smoke | ||
| Fencing Cully | One that receives stollen goods | ||
| Glymmer | Fire | ||
| Glaziers | Eyes | ||
| Grannam | Corn | ||
| Gentry-Mort | A Gallant Wench | ||
| Gan | A Lip | ||
| Gage | A Pot or Pipe | ||
| Grunting cheat | A Sucking Pig | ||
| Giger | A Door | ||
| Gybe | Any Writing or Pass | ||
| Glazyer | One that goes in at the windows | ||
| Gilt | A Pick-lock | ||
| Harmanbeck | A Constable | ||
| Harmans | The Stocks | ||
| Heave a Booth | To rob an House | ||
| Half bord | Six pence | ||
| Hearts ease | A twenty shillings piece | ||
| Jocky | A Flayl, or mans Privities | ||
| Jague | A Ditch | ||
| Jarke | A Seal | ||
| Ken | An House | ||
| Kinchin | Little | ||
| Knapper of Knappers | A Sheep-stealer | ||
| Kinchin Cove | A little man | ||
| Kate | A Pick-lock | ||
| Loure | Money | ||
| Lightmans | Morning or Day | ||
| Lib | To tumble | ||
| Libben | An house to lie in | ||
| Lage | Water | ||
| Libedge | A Bed | ||
| Lullabie-cheat | A Childe | ||
| Lap | Pottage | ||
| Lurries | All manner of Cloaths | ||
| Maunder | To Beg | ||
| Maunders | Beggers | ||
| Margery Prater | An Hen | ||
| Mill | To steal | ||
| Make | An half-penny | ||
| Mynt | Gold | ||
| Muffling cheat | A Napkin | ||
| Mumpers | Gentile Beggars | ||
| Milken | One that Breaks houses | ||
| Munns | The Face | ||
| Nab | An head | ||
| Nab-cheat | An Hat | ||
| ⎧ | To take | ||
| Nab | ⎨ | ||
| ⎩ | Or cheat | ||
| Palliard | One whose Father is a Beggar born | ||
| Paplar | Milk-Pottage | ||
| Prats | Thighs | ||
| Prigg | To Ride | ||
| Peckidge | Meat | ||
| Pannam | Bread | ||
| Plant | To lay or hide | ||
| Prigging | Riding | ||
| Prancer | An Horse | ||
| Prating cheat | A Tongue | ||
| Peake | Any Lace | ||
| Pike on the Leen | Run as fast as you can | ||
| Perry | Fearful | ||
| Peter | A Portmantua | ||
| Prigger of Prancers | An Horse-stealer | ||
| Pad | The Highway-man | ||
| Plant your whids | Have a care what you say | ||
| Quarron | A Body | ||
| Quacking cheat | A Duck | ||
| Quier | Wicked or Roguish | ||
| Quier-Ken | A Prison | ||
| Quier-Mort | A Pocky Jade | ||
| Quier-Cove | A Rogue | ||
| Romboyle | A Ward or watch | ||
| Rome | Gallant | ||
| Rome-vile | London | ||
| Rome-Mort | A Gallant Girl | ||
| Ruffin | The Devil | ||
| Roger | A Cloak-bagg | ||
| Ridge-cully | A Goldsmith | ||
| Ruffler | An over-grown Rogue | ||
| Ruffe peck | Bacon | ||
| Rod-shanke | A Mallard | ||
| Rom-pad | The High-way | ||
| Rome-padders | High-way-men | ||
| Rome-Culle | A Rich Coxcomb | ||
| Swagg | A Shop | ||
| Sundge | One that lies under the bed | ||
| to rob the house | |||
| Shop-lift | One that steals out of shops | ||
| Stampers | The shooes | ||
| Stock-drawers | Stockings | ||
| Stamps | Legs | ||
| Scoure | To wear | ||
| Skew | A Dish | ||
| Slate | A Sheet | ||
| Strommel | Straw or Hair | ||
| Skepper | A Barn | ||
| Stow your whids | Be wary | ||
| ⎧ | A Brokers House, or an | ||
| Stalling-Ken | ⎨ | House to receive stollen | |
| ⎩ | goods | ||
| Smelling cheat | A Garden | ||
| Solomon | The Mass | ||
| Tour | To look out | ||
| Tout his muns | Look in his face | ||
| Track up the Dancers | Go up the Stayres | ||
| The Cul Snylches | The Man eyes you | ||
| Tip the Cole to Adam Tyler | Give what money you pocket-pickt to | ||
| the next party, presently | |||
| Tip the Mish | Give the Shirt | ||
| Tib o’ th’ Buttery | A Goose | ||
| Tip | To give | ||
| The Mort tipt me a wink | The Whore gave me a wink | ||
| Trine | Tyburn | ||
| Trining | Hanging | ||
| Tick-Rome | A License | ||
| Tres wins | Three pence | ||
| Win | A Penny | ||
| Wicher Cully | A Silver-smith | ||
| Yarum | Milk |