If you're out of touch with
contemporary prison slang, you might find this glossary
helpful. It explains some of the common terms used in
the series. If you come across a term which you think
should be in the glossary, please e-mail it to us at
comments@world-productions.com
| Baron |
|
A prisoner
who controls illicit articles through bullying and
other exploitative practices of other prisoners. |
| Beast |
|
Sex offender. (see
Nonce) |
| Bird (Lime) |
|
Prison Time. (Doing bird
= serving a sentence) |
| Burn |
|
Tobacco or cigarettes. |
| Canteen |
|
Prison shop where prisoners
can buy cigarettes, phone cards and toiletries. |
| Cat-A (B/C/D) |
|
Varying categories of security
risk. Refers to the security classification of the
inmate and the institution. |
| Chib |
|
Knife or blade. Verb to
stab or slash. |
| Ghosted |
|
Prisoners transferred at
very short notice. |
| Grass |
|
A prisoner who provides
information about other prisoners to staff. |
| Landings |
|
The storeys of a wing.
Sometimes referred to as ones, twos, threes, fours
etc. |
| Lifer |
|
Someone serving a life
sentence. |
| Nonce |
|
Sex offender. |
| Pad |
|
Cell. |
| Padmate |
|
Prisoner who shares a cell
with another. |
| Piss test |
|
Urine test for drugs. |
| PO |
|
Prison Officer. (see
Screw) |
| Screw |
|
Prison Officer. |
| Seg |
|
Segregation unit. |
| Spin (a cell) |
|
A security search in which
the cell's inmates are strip-searched and their cell
thoroughly searched. |
| Starred up |
|
The conversion of a sentence
of detention in a young offender institution to one
of imprisonment. Dates from the days when mature
or difficult to manage borstal boys were placed in
adult prisons and were treated as star prisoners. |
| TWOCOC |
|
Taking WithOut Consent.
(Twocker etc.) |
| VO |
|
Visiting order. |
| Works |
|
Drug injecting equipment. |
| YO |
|
Young Offender. (also Young
Offender's institute) |
