Glossary of Prison Terms
A
AB: Aryan Brotherhood.
Ad-Seg: Administrative segregation. When a prisoner is placed on Ad-seg, he or she is being investigated. He may have been involved with a fight or caught with contraband and sent to The Hole until the investigation is complete.
All Day: A life sentence, as in “I’m doing all day.”
All Day and a Night: Life without parole.
A Wake up: The day of an inmate’s release.
B
Back door parole: To die in prison.
Bean Slot: In solitary/segregation cells, a place in the cell door where food trays are delivered or where an inmate places his or her hands for cuffing before the guards open the door.
Beating the gums: Inmate who talks a lot.
Beef: A criminal charge, as in “I caught an armed robbery charge,” or a problem with another inmate.
BGF: Black Guerilla Family (prison gang).
Blood: Primarily African American gang (wears the color red with pride).
Bo-Bos: Tennis shoes issued by the prison system.
Bone Yard: Area where conjugal visits take place.
Book: Twenty postage stamps of the current first-class value.
Books: Administratively controlled account ledger that lists each prisoner’s account balance.
Brake fluid: Psychiatric meds.
Buck Fifty: To get sliced across the face with a knife or razor blade.
Buck Roger’s Time: A parole or release date so far away that it’s difficult to imagine.
Bug: A prison staff member considered untrustworthy or unreliable.
Bug juice: Intoxicants or depressant drugs.
Bullet: One year’s time.
Bum Beef: A false accusation/charge or wrongful conviction.
Bum Rap: An unfair sentence.
Bunkie: A bunk mate.
Burrito Man: An inmate who has a hustle of making burritos for other inmates.
Buster: An inmate who is a fake or untrustworthy.
Bust Some Z’s: A short sleep period such as a nap.
C
Cadillac: An inmate’s bunk.
Cadillac Job: An easy or enjoyable inmate work assignment.
Care Package: Food or clothing sent from a friend or family member.
Cat Head: Hard rolls or biscuits served in the cafeteria.
Catch a ride: A request to a friend to get you high.
Cell Gangster: An inmate who puts on a tough front or runs his or her mouth when locked in his or her cell but is a coward when interacting with other prisoners in the open.
Cellie (Celly): The person with whom an inmate shares a cell.
Channel Check: Changing the television channel in the prison dorm.
Check: When one inmate scolds another who does not make a rebuttal. If this continues, the person scolded is “in check.”
Check-in: Someone who has submitted to pressure, intimidation, debts, etc. and no longer feels secure in population and “checks in” to a Protective Custody (PC) unit.
Chi-mo: Child-molester, “chester,” “baby-raper,” “short-eyes,” (as, “he has short-eyes,” meaning he goes after young kids). The worst of all criminals in the eyes of convicts.
Chin Check: To punch another inmate in the jaw to see if he’ll fight back.
Christmas Tree: A shank that is easy to push in but difficult to pull out.
Contraband: Any item in an inmate’s possession that the penal institution does not allow.
Convict: A longtime inmate, who plays by the “code” of prisoners, is tough, knows the ropes, and does not mislead or lie to other prisoners.
Cowboy: A new correctional officer. Cowboy spelled backwards is “yobwoc” or a “young, obnoxious, boy we often con.”
Crips: Primarily an African American gang (wears the color blue with pride).
Crow: Lookout for other inmates committing crimes/rule infractions in a penal facility.
Cups on the Bar: Expression used by runners/orderlies in county jails that instructs inmates to put their coffee cups on the cell bar. Coffee will be poured in the cup when the runner/orderly passes by the cell. Inmates will not receive coffee if their cup is not sitting on the bar.
D
Dance on the blacktop: To get stabbed.
Dap: A greeting between inmates by hitting the top of one inmate’s fist with the bottom of another inmate’s fist.
DC Boys: A Washington, DC, African American prison gang.
De-Seg: Disciplinary Segregation. When an inmate is on De-seg, he or she is in the “hole” for an infraction.
Diesel Therapy: A lengthy bus trip or transfer to a faraway facility, or even an incorrect destination, used as punishment or to get rid of troublesome inmates (most often federal inmates).
Dime: A ten-year sentence.
Ding Wing: A prison’s psychiatric unit.
Dipping in the Kool-Aid: Jumping in another person’s conversation. Being nosey.
Double Up: To charge double the principal for a late payment on a drug debt.
Down: The amount of time an inmate has been incarcerated.
Drive By: When an inmate or C/O walks by a bed or cell while passing gas.
Driveway: Front of either a cell or a bunk.
Dry Snitching: To inform on another inmate indirectly by talking loudly about their actions, behaving suspiciously in front of correctional officers, or supplying general information to officers without naming names.
Duck: A correctional officer who reveals information about other officers or prison staff to inmates.
Dungeon: Solitary confinement or De-seg cell where an inmate is kept incarcerated as a disciplinary action for a violation of the institution’s rules.
E
Ear Hustling: Trying to listen in on another person’s conversation.
Erasers: Processed chicken chunks commonly used in prison food.
F
Farmero: Spanish slang for a Nuestra Familia member
Fire on the Line: A warning by other inmates indicating that a correctional officer is in the area.
Fish: New inmate.
Fish Kit: New inmate’s blanket, bedroll, sheets, etc.
Fish Tank: Intake Center for a prison.
Flick: Picture from a magazine or a photograph.
Four piece or four-piece suit: A full set of restraints, composed of handcuffs, leg restraints and waist chain, and security boxes to cover the restraints’ keyholes.
Free World: What inmates call the rest of the world outside of prison.
Fronting: Putting up a front about having lots of money, being tough, or having lots of women.
G
Gassing: Throwing feces at a guard or prison employee.
Get at: To reach out or contact another inmate.
Ghetto Penthouse: The top tier of a cell block.
Good Time: Time or merit when a prisoner receives a reduction in sentence for following the prison rules. Federal inmates do not receive good time.
GP: General population in a prison. This is where the majority of the inmates are kept rather than solitary confinement.
Grandma’s (Grandma’s House): A prison gang’s headquarters or meeting place, or the cell of the gang leader.
Greener: Inmate who does not know about prison scams or stealing. Usually new to the prison system.
Green Light: To mark an entire gang for death. The green light can also be applied to a single individual.
Gump: A homosexual.
H
Hack: A correctional officer.
Hats And Bats: Prison goon or riot squad. Generally called in to extract inmates from cells or stop a prison riot.
Heat Wave: The attention brought to a group of inmates by the action of one or a few, as in “Joe and John got caught with contraband, and now the whole tier is going through a heat wave.”
High Class: Inmate who has Hepatitis C.
Hold your mud: To resist snitching at all costs.
Hole: An isolation (“segregation”) cell, used as punishment for the most paltry of offenses as well as serious offenses.
Holla At Ya’: I will talk to you later.
Hooch: Prison alcohol made by inmates. Contains sugar, yeast, and generally orange juice and fruit from the cafeteria, which has been cooking in a container or plastic bags for several days.
Hung up the gloves: To defect from a prison gang or organization by entering protective custody.
I
In the car: To scheme with another inmate on a deal.
Institutionalized: Long-term inmate who has accepted prison as a way of life.
Iron Pile: Weight, weightlifting equipment, a.k.a. “the scrap yard.”
J
Jack Book: A magazine containing pictures of women.
Jacket: Prisoner’s information file; also a prisoner’s rap sheet or reputation.
Jack Mack: Canned mackerel or other fish available from the prison commissary. Can be used as currency with other inmates or placed in a sock and used as a weapon.
Jackrabbit Parole: To escape from a facility.
Jigger: Lookout for other prisoners who are breaking prison rules or committing crimes.
Jockers: Aggressive inmates who use other inmates as their “prey.”
Joint: Any prison or jail.
Joto: Spanish for homosexual or faggot.
Juice Card: An inmate’s influence with guards or prisoners to accomplish goals.
Jungle: The prison recreation yard.
K
Kite: A letter sent to a person on the outside or another inmate.
L
La Eme: Spanish for the letter “M.” La Eme is the alternate name for the Mexican Mafia.
Legal Beagle: Inmate who works in the prison library. This inmate can be a law clerk or paralegal.
Lifer: An inmate who will never be released.
Lockdown: When all inmates are locked in their cells due to an assault or escape.
Locker Knocker: An inmate who is marked as a thief.
Lock in a sock: When locks and other contraband are placed in a sock and used as a weapon.
M
Mail Call: Delivery of mail to prisoners.
Mail Out: A common practice in prison where drugs are given on credit or one owes money due to a gambling debt. The inmate owing must have his family or friend mail a money order to an address provided by the debtor. Payment must be made within two weeks or the debt doubles.
Med-Line: Medication or pill supply line within a prison.
Money: Postage stamps that are substituted for cash.
Monkey Mouth: A prisoner who goes on and on about nothing.
Monster: HIV. Also known as “the Ninja.”
N
Nazi Low Riders (NLR): A white supremacist prison gang.
Newjack: Corrections officer or guard who is new to the job.
Nickel: Served a prison sentence of five years.
Ninja Turtles: Guards dressed in full riot gear. Also known as “hats and bats.”
No Smoke: To follow staff’s orders without resisting or causing any problems.
O
Old School: Reference to the way prisons and inmates used to be. He can see a lot but say little. He can make a deal with a handshake. Often they are respected among officers and inmates.
On Vacation: When an inmate has been placed in solitary confinement.
Orderly: An inmate whose job is to maintain the cleanliness of the housing unit.
OTC: Out to court.
Out-count: To count an inmate whose whereabouts are accounted for but not in his/her assigned cell.
Out of Bounds: Any area inmates are not allowed.
P
Packing the rabbit: Inserting contraband into a body cavity.
PC: Protective Custody.
PC Up: To enter into protective custody. Generally for sexual offenders or weak inmates.
Peckerwood: Usually used by Blacks to describe white inmates.
Peels: The orange jumpsuit uniforms worn by prisoners in some facilities.
Pepsi Generation: Newer, younger prisoners who lack respect for Old School ways.
PO: Parole officer.
Police: Corrections officer, guard, or staff of a federal prison facility.
Popped: An inmate that has been caught with contraband.
Prison Wolf: An inmate who is normally straight on “the outside,” but engages in sexual activity with men while incarcerated.
Public Pretender: Public defender. Most inmates do not consider public defenders to be good at their job.
Punk: Term for either a homosexual inmate or a weaker inmate who performs as a homosexual for protection.
R
Rabbit: An inmate who has a history of escape attempts or has plans to try to escape.
Rat: An inmate who informs on other inmates to corrections officers. Can also be called snitch or stool pigeon.
Regulate: A beating administered by thirteen Sureños for thirteen seconds. Sureños is an organization of different Hispanic street gangs.
Resident: A Hispanic inmate who is not a gang member but still supports Sureño racial violence.
Ride with: To do favors for a fellow convict, often sexual ones, in exchange for protection, contraband, prison currency, or commissary items.
Ride Leg: To be friendly with or suck up to staff in order to get favors.
Road Kill: Cigarette butts picked up from roadsides by prison work crew. They’re brought back to the facility and the collected tobacco is rerolled with toilet paper to smoke.
Robocop: Guard or corrections officer who writes inmates up for any rule infraction possible. A helicopter used to track a person running from law enforcement.
Rod: A prison stabbing device similar to an ice pick.
Rolled it up: A phrase used to describe an inmate who has entered into protective custody.
Rollie: Inmate’s handmade cigarette.
Run a Make: To locate and check the credentials of an inmate to see if he’s an informant.
Runner: A person who does favors for prisoners, such as smuggling drugs into the institution, relaying messages, etc.
Running Wild: Inmate who has a longer time in prison because he must serve consecutive sentences rather than serve all of them at the same time.
S
Sally Port: Secured control area where inmates/guards enter a jail/prison. Can be between two fences or doors.
Sandwich: To stab an individual using two or more assailants, thereby sandwiching the target.
Scam: A hustle or scheme to obtain something.
Scandalous: Can be either unbelievable or so outrageous as to be considered cool or okay.
Score: What an inmate obtained from committing a crime.
Screw: Guard or correctional officer of a prison.
Script: Money. Note: In many prisons, stamps are also used as money.
Scroll: A contract by an inmate to get someone.
Segregation: Usually SHU or another part of prison where inmates are kept away from the main population and most privileges are taken away.
Send-Out: Any monetary transaction in prison where an inmate gets another inmate to make the payment.
Shakedown: Search by guards/corrections officers of inmate areas for contraband.
Shank: Any object an inmate has made into a knife/shiv/sharpened point.
Short: An inmate whose sentence is less than two years or as low as imminent release.
Short Line: Line for prison store (commissary) during lunch hours or early lunch for inmates with medical problems.
Short Timer: Inmate who will soon be released.
Shot: In federal prison, this is an incident report filed against an inmate.
Shot Caller: An inmate who represents and speaks for a group within the prison such as a gang, dorm, or racial group.
SHU: Secure Housing Unit where problem inmates, such as gang leaders and those who are disruptive, are contained and privileges are mostly suspended.
Sick Call: An inmate visiting the medical section of the prison whether for illness, questions, or an appointment.
Slammed: An inmate who has been put in solitary confinement or administrative segregation.
Sleeved: Any person who has tattoos covering the entire length of his or her arms.
Sleeves: Any person who has tattoos from their neck to the wrists.
Snitch: Inmate who informs police, prison officials, or authorities about rule breaking by others for a shorter sentence or favors. Also known as a squealer or rat.
Spook: In the federal prison system, staff who work in the Gang Intelligence Unit.
Self PC: To refuse to go to the yard or come out of your cell but not enter protective custody.
Shift Gears: To jerk a knife around in circular motions while it is embedded in the torso of the target in an effort to cause massive trauma and death.
Skinheads: A white supremacist group.
Slocking: Using an inmate-made weapon consisting of a bag with a heavy object in it to hit another inmate.
Stainless-Steel Ride: Death row inmate term for legal injection.
T
Take It To The Stall: Going to the shower area to physically settle disputes by fighting.
Tank: A dormitory unit within a prison consisting of ten to twelve inmates. Contains both a day room and a bathroom.
Tats: An inmate’s tattoos.
Ten-Minute Move: Moving between locations within a prison. These times begin at five minutes before the hour and end at five minutes after the hour.
Three Knee Deep: To stab someone so that he or she is injured but not killed, usually as a warning.
Throw down: A fight between inmates.
Tio: Spanish for “uncle.” Tio is often used in prison and jail correspondence to indicate that the person being called “Tio” is in fact a Mafia member.
To have the keys: To be in a position of leadership.
Tomahawk: A jail/prison manufactured slashing type weapon constructed from razor blades and melted plastic stock.
Toss Salad: To sexually turn out another inmate by performing oral sex on their anal area.
Turf: Gang territory.
Turn: To cooperate with law enforcement.
Turn Out: To force an individual into homosexual activity.
Two For One: A common practice in prison where drugs are provided on credit with the expectancy that the principal debt will be paid back double the value of the drugs.
U
UA: A urinalysis test for drugs.
UBN: United Blood Nation, an African American prison gang (wears red with pride).
W
Wacked: High on drugs.
Walk In: To allow membership into a gang without initiation.
Walk the line: To be an inmate on the general prison population.
Wearing the brand: Wearing a gang’s tattoo.
Wolf Tickets: To talk tough or challenge others, without any intent to back it up with action or violence.
Y
Yard: The recreation area within the prison.
Yard-In: The command guards or correctional officers give at the closing of the recreation yard.
Yard-Out: Announcement that lets inmates know they can go out to the recreation yard.
Yolked: An inmate who is muscular.
Z
Zapato: Spanish for “shoe.” Zapato is a slang term used to describe the “SHU” or Security/Segregated Housing Unit.