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Backwards slang around the world
Long before anyone played a tape in reverse, people spoke in reversed words to keep secrets from customers, police and parents. Many of these codes are still alive, and some of their words ended up in everyday language.
Back slang (England)
London's costermongers, the street traders who sold fruit, vegetables and fish, said words as if spelt backwards so they could talk in front of customers. It was first described in print by Henry Mayhew in 1851. Butchers and greengrocers used it too. Its best-known survivor is yob, back slang for "boy". Some sounds do not reverse neatly, so speakers bent the rules: "trousers" became reswort.
Verlan (France)
Verlan swaps the syllables of a word, and the name itself is l'envers ("the reverse") reversed. It started with 19th century thieves and is now everyday youth slang. A few words made it into the dictionary.
| Word | Verlan | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| femme | meuf | woman, girlfriend |
| flic | keuf | cop |
| lourd | relou | annoying |
| louche | chelou | weird, shady |
| maestro | Stromae | the singer's stage name |
Vesre (Argentina and Uruguay)
Vesre, from al revés, is part of Buenos Aires slang and tango lyrics. It is spoken, not written.
| Word | Vesre | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| café | feca | coffee |
| mujer | jermu | wife |
| amigo | gomía | friend |
| doctor | tordo | doctor, lawyer |
| hotel | telo | love hotel |
More reversed codes
- Louchébem, the old slang of Paris butchers.
- Šatrovački in Serbo-Croatian and Totoiana in Romanian.
- Tougo in Japanese and podaná in Greek.
- Sheng in Kenya and the "high school language" of isiXhosa and isiZulu speakers.
- Parlache in Medellín and reversina in Panama.
- Fika, the Swedish coffee break, is often explained as a 19th century reversal of kaffi.
Almost all of these reverse syllables or letters, not sounds. Played backwards they still sound like gibberish. To make a recording that plays back as real words you need phonetic reversal.
Questions
What is back slang?
Back slang is a Victorian London code in which words are said as if spelt backwards. It was used by street traders and gave English the word "yob" from "boy".
What does verlan mean?
Verlan is French slang that reverses syllables. The word comes from "l'envers", meaning the reverse, said backwards.
Is "yob" really "boy" backwards?
Yes. It started as back slang among London traders in the 19th century and became standard English.
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