The Argot of the Underworld Narcotic Addict: Part II

Abstract

since the publication of the 1936 article; while many of them are apparently of very recent coinage, it is probable that most of them were simply not recorded in the previous study; a careful check shows no evidence that any of the previously printed terms have become obsolete.3 Only by checking these lists at intervals over the next ten or fifteen years will it be possible to determine how rapidly the argot changes and what factors most strongly influence change. However, the argot of so-called criminal narcotic addicts is the least stable of any of the criminal argots I have examined. The addicts are constantly 'steaming the lingo up'; this tendency (perhaps concomitant to addiction) complicates collection and makes the formation of definitions based on usage most difficult.4 It produces an

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