1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 12: The West End [...] was a strange place that summer’s night in 1947. The rubbers were empty.at rub-a-dub, n.2
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 11: We knew the Blacks had shooters [...] So one of my women brought some artillery to us. Revolvers were easy to get [...] another woman brought along a bag full of Mills bombs.at artillery, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 5: Night after night some thief or other was cut, or his head was bashed in.at bash, v.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 147: Anyone who was having the black put on him had only to come to me and I saw to it that it was stopped.at black, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 155: We had cleared all the cheap racketeers out. There was no longer any blacking of club owners and restaurant keepers.at black, v.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 22: Afterwards I made a statement about the truth of that blagging and Harding got his sentence reduced.at blagging (n.) under blag, v.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 31: Now blagging is robbery with violence [...] There were many advantages in blags. First, most blags are done for hard cash .at blag, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 5: We never wore disguises [...] It’s amazing how few people recognise you on a blag job.at blag, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 4: From the race-tracks alone they earned bombs in dough.at bomb, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 28: I think villains respected me [...] because after I chivved a bloke I did not put the boot in or anything like that.at put the boot in (v.) under boot, the, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 193: Square George and Franny Daniels were no bottle as far as they were concerned.at no bottle, phr.2
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 46: I worked a few quid their way whenever I was well breeched.at breeched, adj.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 143: We were amused by this inquiry [into counterfeit petrol coupons], held with all its pomp and bull.at bull, n.6
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 153: If he lost a grand [...] he never blinked an eyelid. Nor did he show any emotion if he buttoned-up a couple of grand to the good.at button up (v.) under button, v.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 26: A stick or jemmy is a cane [...] Shove a steel tube over the end of a peter cane and you can bust most ordinary safes open with it. If your cane is three and a half fet long and your steel tube is three and a half feet long [...] you have the purchasing power of twenty tons.at cane, n.1
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 71: I didn’t fancy the Kate Carney, so I put my name down for the Air Force.at Kate Carney, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 8: I always managed to leave my trade-mark on a few of them [...] I am still one of the best chiv merchants in the business.at chiv artist (n.) under chiv, n.1
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 28: I never chivved anyone unless I had to. And I would stand for plenty of liberties before eventually I did use the knife.at chiv, v.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 100: Chummy could not handle such a large amount [i.e. of stolen ration coupons] and offered them to me.at chummy, n.3
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 218: On went the clampers again, and more telephopnes than ever were tapped.at clampers, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 153: He pleaded [...] that when he was running away he was escaping from the Billy Hill mob. That was a load of cobblers.at cobblers, n.2
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 133: I arranged a meet with the Commy. He was a slimy individual.at commie, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 16: My father had five or six cons for belting coppers.at con, n.1
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 12: Those left in the various clubs and boozers were too scared to talk. Even to a cozzer.at cozzer, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 56: I had to put them on a rota, giving them all a fair crack of the whip as often as I could.at fair crack of the whip, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 15: He was a cracker, that padre [...] he was the only one who could handle my Maggie.at cracker, n.6
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 113: We’ll do a creep on him, nick his keys while’s asleep, and open his place during the night.at do a creep (v.) under creep, n.
1955 B. Hill Boss of Britain’s Underworld 21: Cripes! when you come to think of it, I must have been soft to ask for that water.at cripes!, excl.