Gang Slang

In large cities like Chicago and New York, A rumble is more than a low, heavy, rolling sound. A rumble, in the argot of teen-age street gangs, is a mass fight between rival groups. Teen-agers have always had their special language, but the jargon of the teen-age gang is something recent. In a sense it is eclectic, drawing on the language Of “hip” jazzmen, the underworld, and the military, But much of it consists of common terms given surprising Twists.

New York and Chicago Gang Slang

  • Bopping- Fighting against a rival gang.
  • Humbug – (Chicago) same as bopping.
  • Jitterbug - Used like Humbug in Queens New york
  • Burn – To bop, especially with weapons.
  • Bust – To beat up. Also to disperse, as, “Man, the cops busted us and we wasn’t Doing nothing.”
  • Call it on – To arrange a rumble.
  • Clique – The gang.
  • Cool it – To call off the rumble.
  • Crew – Same as clique.
  • Debs – The girl friends of gang members. Sometimes the debs are loosely organized as an auxiliary of the gang.
  • Down – Bad; tough. A gang member might say admiringly of his gang. “Man, we’re way down.”
  • Down kiddie – A tough guy. He doesn’t punk out; he’s not chicken.
  • Fair one – A fist fight, without weapons, between one or more representatives of two rival gangs. A fair one may occur when individuals members of rival gangs have personal grudges to settle, or when it has been decided to settle gang grievances without resorting to a rumble. In many cases what starts as a fair one, with the rest of the gang watching, ends in a rumble anyway.
  • Go down – Same as a burn.
  • Job man – the social worker, usually from the Youth Board, who tries to help gang members. Gangs often like tp have a job man assigned to them because it shows how tough they are.
  • Jump – A dance or social event. Also, as a verb to attack rival gang members without warning.
  • Pad down – To search or “frisk.” The cops padded us down and then busted us.”
  • Piece – A firearm; usually a pistol, but also a rifle, perhaps cut down. “The heat’s on, man; I got to hide my piece.”
  • Pot – Marijuana.
  • Pull a jap – Make a sneak attack. From the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese “burned our guys.”
  • Punk out – To behave in a cowardly manner; to run away, as from a fight or a threat.
  • Rank – To taunt rivals with threatening or insulting looks or words; a form of challenge. Probably from the Army expression “to pull rank,” meaning to make use of one’s higher rank to bulley a subordinate.
  • Rep – Reputation, prestige, status. One of the major reasons for joining a gang.
  • Schemer – The shrewd member of the gang. A schemer might take over the gang leadership by subtly playing one faction against another. Also, the one that thinks up things to do.
  • Session – Same as a jump or dance.
  • Shank – to stab, particularly in the leg.
  • Sound – Same as to rank.
  • Tight – Close, in the sense of close friends.
  • Turf – The neighborhood territory ruled by a gang.
  • Waste – To defeat thoroughly; to annihilate.
  • Chickie – The Cops. “Hey Chickie,” warning the Cops are coming.
  • Hack - Cop; Man on the walk.
  • Rolled - We rolled that Flake.
  • Throwdown - Fight; That cat can Throwdown.
Harlem Gang Slang

From the movie The Young Savages: "I heard the Horsemen were bustin out, bobbin the gang on the next block so I had myself a look. It was a rumble for real with zip guns jackhammers the works."

Brooklyn Gang Slang

From the movie The Warriors: "We're going to have to bop our way back!" "What are we waiting for?" "The train would help. Unless you want to get japped on an open platform!"

Fifties Boppin Slang

It all started in the fifties: gang lingo, gang jargon, greaser slang. The words from the list were used from the 1950’s through today. Some of the words have been modified to fit the times, but their roots are the 1950’s.