The Dominican Order (ie, the Blackfriars!) arrived in Newcastle in 1239 (or thereabouts). Land was donated by 3 sisters and funds were raised by one of the first Mayors Peter Scot. This was the first friary in the tow…
In 1539 it was surrendered to Henry VIII - the 12 friars dispersed and much of the complex was demolished, apart from the Blackfriars site we see today.. Crucially, when the Dominicans returned 3 centuries later, they…
A piece of old London thieves' cant meaning 'look out' or 'beware' — part of the coded vocabulary that criminals and street hustlers used to tip each other off about danger, typically the approach of police or other threats. Like much Victorian-era thieves' slang, it borrowed place names and ordinary words and repurposed them as warning signals. Today it reads as a historical curiosity, a window into the rich underground argot of 19th-century London.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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One word of blackfriars from the lookout sent the whole crew scattering into the alleyways.
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(obsolete, UK, thieves) look out; beware.
“The Dominican Order (ie, the Blackfriars!) arrived in Newcastle in 1239 (or thereabouts). Land was donated by 3 sisters and funds were raised by one of the first Mayors Peter Scot. This was the first friary in the town, extending down between Low Friar St and Corporation St”
“In 1539 it was surrendered to Henry VIII - the 12 friars dispersed and much of the complex was demolished, apart from the Blackfriars site we see today.. Crucially, when the Dominicans returned 3 centuries later, they didn't return to the old medieval house.”
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