The convicts came to Australia
with many different regional accents but a common feature of their culture was
the development of their own slang language. This would have been as easily
understood in London as it was at Sydney Cove, and would have been familiar to James Gough when he lived at The Rocks in 1828. While researching some early court records, I
found many slang expressions used in the evidence recorded. All these
expressions were used by a gang of
thieves in 1824 when planning and executing a robbery. The sequence
really tells the story of the outcome of their plan...
the cove: the boss
rogues & splits: ínformers
to weed: to steal
some of the goods
on the cross: dishonest deal
on the square: honest deal
a mark: person handling the deal
his regulars: his usual payment
we will knap that: we will grab that
a sing out: an alarm has been given
the cove is down: the boss is on to us
a down on me: the boss suspects me
ding it: dump it
its all dick on the green: it's all over, it's finished
(Some Wool, a Cart & a Devious Plan 1824; from Murder,
Mayhem & Misdemeanours, Early Settlers at the Cowpasture River 1810
-1830)
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