Thieves’ cant, lingo, criminal argot. A famous slang noun originally referring to the secret jargon used by ofeny (peddlers in pre-revolutionary Russia) to conceal their trade talk from outsiders. Over time, the vocabulary filtered into the underworld, and in contemporary speech, it describes the specialized slang, idioms, and coded language used by prisoners, gangsters, and criminal subcultures. To speak this language is traditionally called ботать по фене.
Нас называли «легавыми». Прозвище из классической воровской «фени». На фоне нынешних обращений к милиции звучит почти уважительно — охотничьи псы, чутко берущие след, загоняющие любого зверя не корысти ради, а азарта для…
We were called “coppers”. A nickname from the classic criminal underworld. Compared to today’s derogatory terms for the police, it sounds almost honourable — hunting dogs, with a keen eye for any trail, pursuing any quarry, not for profit, but for the thrill…
(nedostreljani @ ЖЖ, 04/2009)
