voice, passive refers to the subjects of a sentence being acted upon, as in "The picture was painted by him."
mafia/organized crime terms and slang
administration the ruling members of an organized crime family.
associate one who works with the Mafia but who may not be "made," or sworn in.
babbo a stupid underling. bent car stolen car.
books, the the membership in a crime family.
bootlegging illegally copying of music, videos, etc., and selling them for profit.
borgata a crime family. Also known as a brugad.
boss in the Mafia, the head of a family. Also known as a chairman or don.
broken brought down in rank.
brugad see borgata.
burn to murder.
button one who has been sworn in to a crime family.
canary an informer. Also known as a rat or squealer.
can opener a safecracker.
capo the head of a crew, or group of soldiers.
capo di tutti capi boss of bosses.
capo regime see underboss.
chairman see boss.
chased run out of the Mafia; banished.
Chicago overcoat a coffin.
cleaning slipping away from someone who is following on foot or in a car; giving the slip.
clip to murder.
clock to track or take note of someone's comings and goings.
comare a mistress of a Mafia member.
compare a friend.
con a confidence game or swindle.
Cosa Nostra Italian for "this thing of ours," referring to a Mafia family.
crew a group of soldiers.
don see boss.
empty suit a powerless wanna-be who hangs out with mob members.
enforcer one who acts as an intimidator and threatens, beats up, or even kills.
extortion the use of threats, such as that of burning down a business, to extract money from victims.
family collective term for members of the Mafia.
fence one who receives stolen goods.
finger to identify.
garbage business see waste management business.
gift euphemism for a bribe.
goodfella see mafioso.
goombah slang for a friend or compare.
graft illegal profit.
hit to murder.
hot place a place under surveillance by the police.
hush money any money paid to someone to keep them quiet.
juice interest paid to a loanshark. larceny stealing.
loanshark one who loans money at exorbitant interest rates.
made referring to one who has been inducted into the Mafia.
Mafia an organized society of criminals, of largely Italian or Sicilian descent.
mafioso a member of the Mafia. Also known as a goodfella or wiseguy.
mobster a member of a criminal gang; a mafioso.
MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang from Central America that has spread across the United States and has become notorious for home invasions, carjackings, robberies, extortion, weapons smuggling, and drug dealing. Members typically have tattoos with the number 13 or the letters MS.
off the record referring to a communication or activity conducted without the knowledge or permission of the administration.
omerta the code of silence sworn to by any member of the Mafia, upon penalty of death.
packing carrying a gun. piece a gun. pinched arrested. pop to murder.
put a contract out on to arrange to have someone killed.
racketeer one who obtains money through various illegal means, such as fraud, bootlegging, or extortion.
racketeering taking part in extortion, bootlegging, or fraud.
rat see canary.
shake down to blackmail or frighten someone for money.
skim to take gambling profits without declaring them on one's taxes.
soldier a low-ranking member.
squealer see canary.
swag stolen goods.
underboss in the Mafia, one who is second in command.
waste management business euphemism for the Mafia or organized crime. Also known as the garbage business.
whack to murder. wiseguy see mafioso.
Witness Protection Program legal and physical protection offered by U.S. federal government for those who would testify in court with evidence of unlawful activities.
prison slang
agitator any prisoner who stirs up trouble, especially in provoking fights.
all day a life sentence.
bail property or money held by a court to allow a suspect to avoid jail time until a trial.
bean slot a narrow opening in a cell through which a meal tray may be passed or the prisoner may be handcuffed before leaving the cell.
bird on the line an alert that someone is eavesdropping.
bitch a homosexual or someone who is considered weak.
black market an illegal selling and buying of goods, such as bootleg alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes, by barter system by inmates.
blanket party throwing a blanket over someone and beating him. Because the victim cannot see, the person actually landing the blows may remain anonymous.
bone the dominant one in a relationship, especially a sexual one.
bong a can wrapped with several windings of toilet paper, which is lit on fire and allowed to burn slowly, used to heat water for cooking.
brig a jail on a ship.
brogan a state-issued work boot.
bullet a one-year sentence or period of time.
bunkie one who shares a bunk bed with an inmate.
capital punishment the death penalty.
cell block the section of a prison that contains the cells.
cell gangster one who talks tough while in the safety of his cell but who becomes quiet and submissive on the outside. Also known as a cell warrior.
cellie slang for a cellmate.
cellmate one who shares a prison cell with another. chair electric chair.
checking saying something offensive to someone to see if they will dare to say anything back, a method of dominating without fighting. It may go so far as punching someone in the chin, to determine how far he or she can go with keeping a weaker inmate in check.
clique any group of prisoners who hang out together, forming a strong defense against rivals.
cliqued on when a group of prisoners who hang together beat up an individual outside the clique.
C.O. a corrections officer.
commissary a kind of in-prison store where prisoners may purchase approved goods with money placed in their account, either from doing various prison work or sent from family members.