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Carnival Slang: A - C D - I J - P Q - Z
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Oh, yeah … one more thing:
"Carny," also known as "Ciazarn" —
it's a special "cant" (secret mode of encoded speech) used when carnies don't want anyone outside the business (that probably means you, pal) to know what they're saying.A little like pig-latin, and so closely related to "Double Dutch" as to be almost identical, you insert an invariant nonsense syllable after each consonant. In Carny, the syllable is always "eaz", pronounced "ee-uz."
For example, to say, "Can we take this hick?" It would come out (hard C) "Ceaz-an weaz-e teaz-ake theaz-is heaz-ick?"You can hear quite a stretch of it in the old disco record "Double-Dutch Bus", and it seems to be one (among many) components of ghetto "gangsta slang."
Carny was once common inside the ring among wrestlers and referees, very much like Pig-Latin where a syllable is added to any word — "finish" being turned into "fee-ya-zin-ish" or "gimmick" being turned into "Gee-ya-zimmick." Sometimes used by fans who want to be accepted as "insiders," generally resulting in snickering as soon as they leave the room.
Carnival Slang: A - C D - I J - P Q - Z
American Circus Slang British/Euro Circus Slang Vaudeville Slang
Ciazarn Gypsies Slang Main Index Website Top Page