Talk like a Newsie: Newsboy Slang
Many of the newsboys at the turn of the 20th century were not schooled, and therefore lacked proper grammer. As a result, the newsies made up their own vocabulary or slang. Many of the popular slang words are used by Grin and his fellow newsies in the book. See if you can spot them among the list below:
| slang | definition |
| mutt | a trespassor |
| track | a kid’s spot |
| scab | someone whose on a job that’s being striked |
| hawk | to sell |
| lick | to fight |
| soak | to fight |
| punk | to fight |
| five-fingered | to steal |
| swiped | to steal |
| hooked | to steal |
| extras | papers sold as special editions |
| pitch | to throw |
| dreamin through a pipe | mistaken |
| skipped | ran away, ran out |
| grafter | a newsie that runs away with the change |
| blow it in/ blowed | spend money |
| White Way | Broadway |
| pluck | honesty |
| mouth-organ | hermonica |
| sand the track | stop |
| yellows | New York Journal and World Papers |
Comment below: If you were a newsie, what slang would you come up with?