Australia's first dictionary was authored by a convict named James Hardy Vaux.
When researching the life of James Vaux, author Kel Richards discovered the story of a fraudster and gentleman thief transported to New South Wales three times for his crimes.
In order to avoid hard labour, Vaux wrote a dictionary of convict slang, known as the 'Flash Language', so magistrates could understand what prisoners were saying.
Over time, many words and phrases from the Flash Language became a part of Australian English, and words like 'pinch', 'yarn', 'togs', and 'snitch' entered everyday life.
Further information
Flash Jim is published by HarperCollins.
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