Thieve's Cant
"Hey, are you an informant?"
"Yeah."
"I'm looking for a assassin."
"Who are you looking to kill?"
"A certain nobleman, he's been cracking down on my gang."
"Seems a bit risky, you'll need a lot of gold to make it work."
The above conversation likely will leave you and you're wonderful informant locked away easily. Luckily, there's a better way. Imagine if you heard the below conversation.
"Knock knock, you a leak?" "Yeah." "I'm looking for a wet man." "Who are you looking to have a chat with." "A certain silk glove, been been a cull and my birds don't like it." "Seems boring, you'll need fat lady's yellow tin."
Much better, especially if you're speaking quickly. Terms can be made, conditions settled, costs, time and date. Thieve's cant can be one of the greatest tools of a thief as it can be used to receive the best information."
Though it is called thieve's cant it also includes a written symbology, a collection of secret hand signals and shakes, as well as a series of meanings behind clothing and the placement of other situational items.
An example may be the placement of a ring on a pointer finger, indicating the highest ranking individual in a gang. The fiddling with a ring, shifting it away from the pinky finger may indicate a desire for more money out of a contract. Sometimes a guard is put in place for a specific business, with one or more feet facing the direction of the one they're protecting. One may have a belt threaded through all but one belt loop, indicating a particular line of work that one is capable of providing. At a meeting the one directing may have the handle of their tankard pointing in the direction of whoever should be speaking.
Thieve's cant comes in many different dialects, but seldom are words switched around too badly that one can't pick up on the adjusted slang. Sometimes cant is spoken in a different native language and symbolism is given to them. Other times, foreign words are introduced to further confuse unwanted listeners.
The above conversation likely will leave you and you're wonderful informant locked away easily. Luckily, there's a better way. Imagine if you heard the below conversation.
"Knock knock, you a leak?" "Yeah." "I'm looking for a wet man." "Who are you looking to have a chat with." "A certain silk glove, been been a cull and my birds don't like it." "Seems boring, you'll need fat lady's yellow tin."
Much better, especially if you're speaking quickly. Terms can be made, conditions settled, costs, time and date. Thieve's cant can be one of the greatest tools of a thief as it can be used to receive the best information."
Though it is called thieve's cant it also includes a written symbology, a collection of secret hand signals and shakes, as well as a series of meanings behind clothing and the placement of other situational items.
An example may be the placement of a ring on a pointer finger, indicating the highest ranking individual in a gang. The fiddling with a ring, shifting it away from the pinky finger may indicate a desire for more money out of a contract. Sometimes a guard is put in place for a specific business, with one or more feet facing the direction of the one they're protecting. One may have a belt threaded through all but one belt loop, indicating a particular line of work that one is capable of providing. At a meeting the one directing may have the handle of their tankard pointing in the direction of whoever should be speaking.
Thieve's cant comes in many different dialects, but seldom are words switched around too badly that one can't pick up on the adjusted slang. Sometimes cant is spoken in a different native language and symbolism is given to them. Other times, foreign words are introduced to further confuse unwanted listeners.
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