Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus. prison) a gentleman or educated convict.

1834

Sydney Monitor 19 July 2/2: [E]ven were all the specials† at Port Macquarie let loose in support of the ‘Spartan Band’ in Sydney. †This is the slang term for a gentleman, or educated convict.

2. (N.Z. prison/US) a firearm.

1911		H.W. Odum ‘Folk-song and Folk-poetry as Found in the Secular Songs of the Southern Negroes’ in Jrnl American Folk-Lore July-Sept. 294: Eddy died with a special in his hand, / Eddy Jones, Eddy Jones.
1911		H.W. Odum ‘Folk-song and Folk-poetry as Found in the Secular Songs of the Southern Negroes’ in Jrnl American Folk-Lore Oct.-Nov. 351: The ‘special’ is a well-known term for the negro’s ‘gun,’ which is usually a pistol; the ‘44’ is always the favorite.
1930		J. Rodgers ‘‘Blue Yodel Number 9’ 🎵 Listen all you rounders, you better leave my women alone / ’Cause I’ll take my special and run all you rounders home.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 173/2: special n. 2 (the special) a firearm.

3. (Aus. gambling) a racecourse tip, a certainty.

1966		J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 153: [F]or a cash payment and a promise of 2½ per cent share of all winning, he guaranteed to send a couple of ‘specials’ for a coming race meeting.
1995		P. Vautin Turn It Up! 146: ‘How’s your horse going to go Fatty?’ My replies included, ‘It’s a special.’ ‘Get on. It can’t be beaten’.

4. a prostitute’s client who has any particular tastes, costumes, bondage, fetishes etc.

1981

A.K. Shulman On the Stroll 212: If anything, she was too straight, unwilling to roll or creep on the johns, no heart and specials.

5. (UK juv.) a pupil requiring special needs.

2001

OnLine Dict. of Playground Sl. 🌐 specials n. often a synonym for ‘disabled’ (mentally or physically) people.

6. (N.Z. prison) a visit in which a prisoner receives a package of contraband.

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 173/2: special n. 1 a visit during which an inmate receives contraband to smuggle back into the prison 2 (the special) a firearm.

7. (US short-order) a hot dog.

1957

Morn. Call (Allentown, PA) 24 Feb. 17/2: A hamburger may be ‘one on,’ and a hot dog a ‘special’.

8. Carlsberg Special Brew, a strong lager.

2012

R. Milward Kimberly’s Capital Punishment (2023) 396: Just one woman’s purse can go on providing you with fags and cans of Special for twenty-four hours.