Thieves' Cant Translator — Secret Rogue Language from D&D and History
Speak like a rogue with Thieves' Cant, the secret language of thieves used by D&D rogues and by real Elizabethan and Georgian criminals. Built on genuine historical cant recorded by Thomas Harman and Francis Grose: money becomes lowre, the tavern becomes a boozing ken, guards become harmans, and night becomes darkmans. Add a bit of rogue's patter for your guild-mates.
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What Is Thieves' Cant?
Thieves' Cant is a secret language of rogues: a mix of slang, jargon and coded phrases that lets thieves talk business in plain sight. To an outsider it sounds like ordinary chatter. To someone in the know, it carries the location of the loot, the movements of the guards and the time of the job.
In Dungeons & Dragons, every rogue learns Thieves' Cant as a class feature. The rules describe it as a secret mix of dialect, jargon and code that hides messages inside normal conversation, together with a set of secret signs and symbols used to mark safe houses, danger and easy targets.
The Real History of Thieves' Cant
Thieves' Cant was real. From the 16th century onward, English vagabonds, cutpurses and highwaymen used a "canting" language so the law could not follow their talk. Writers documented it out of fascination and alarm: Thomas Harman in his 1567 Caveat or Warning for Common Cursetors, Robert Greene in his coney-catching pamphlets, and Francis Grose in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, expanded in 1811.
Most of it has faded, but a few words escaped into everyday English. A fence still buys stolen goods, swag still means loot, and a beak was British slang for a magistrate well into the 20th century. Every word in this translator comes from those historical records.
Common Thieves' Cant Words
| Cant | English |
|---|---|
| Cove | Man |
| Mort | Woman |
| Cully | Victim, mark |
| Ken | House |
| Boozing ken | Tavern, alehouse |
| Lowre | Money |
| Bung | Purse |
| Prig | Thief; to steal |
| Harman | Constable, guard |
| Beak | Magistrate, judge |
| Darkmans | Night |
| Glim | Light, lantern |
| Bene / Rum | Good / fine, valuable |
| Stow you | Be quiet |
Using Thieves' Cant in Your Campaign
Thieves' Cant is perfect for guild meetings, coded notes slipped under tavern doors, and fences who will only deal with someone who speaks the language. A rogue can greet a contact with cant to prove they belong, and the rest of the party may be left wondering why everyone keeps talking about prancers and boozing kens.
How This Thieves' Cant Translator Works
Type your English text and the translator rewrites it in genuine historical cant, so "run away" becomes scowre, "tonight" becomes this darkmans, and the tavern becomes a boozing ken. Every word comes from records of real underworld slang, so your rogue speaks the way real thieves did. Turn on Rogue's patter to end with a bit of cant for your guild-mates.
Thieves' Cant is also available through the Fun Translations API. Stow you, and keep your peepers open.
