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Rogue Literature As Proto-Dictionaries
- Rogue literature in the 1550s exposed the criminal underworld and its slang to mainstream readers.
- Those cant glossaries act as early English-to-English dictionaries and document slang evolution.
Society Shapes The Rise Of Rogues
- Multiple social changes in the 1500s (enclosure, population growth, dissolution of monasteries) created a large roaming underclass.
- That surge explains why thieves, beggars, and cant became pervasive in towns and on highways.
St Paul's Dialogue Reveals First 'Cheat' Uses
- Gilbert Walker's pamphlet staged a dialogue in St Paul's to teach readers dice and card scams.
- The text records the earliest use of 'cheat' and 'cheater' with their modern senses.