A to Z: Deadly Slang by Gangs Where a “Biscuit” is a Gun & an “Elbow” is a Pound of Drugs

The crab got a biscuit and is drinking the bumble bee’s milk. Translation: a Crip gang member has a gun and is looking to kill a Latin King rival.

New York gangs aren’t just a frightening menace driving up crime in the city. They operate in a shadowy underworld with their own signs, signals and terminology.

But a forthcoming book by gang expert Lou Savelli pulls back the veil, revealing thousands of insider terms for everything that makes up gangster life: guns, drugs, money and murder.

“Gangs have their own language to represent who they are and to show their camaraderie,” says Savelli, a leading consultant who founded the NYPD’s gang unit and is now deputy director of the nonprofit East Coast Gang Investigators Association. “The slang they develop helps protect them from law enforcement. They also don’t want other criminals ripping them off.”

Savelli says the emergence of small youth crews and the rising power of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) pose significant threats.

Read more from this story HERE.