The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Episode Summary
In this episode, we’re kicking off an exciting two-part crime series. I teach you
20 crime-related phrasal verbs, slang words, and expressions, including
terms like "cops," "perp," "shake down," "rap sheet," "cut a deal," and more.
In this episode, I emphasize the cultural prevalence of crime stories in the
USA, reflected in the popularity of true crime content on platforms like
Netflix. The episode includes a fictional story about crime that will teach you
new words and expressions.
Vocabulary
Cops/Popo/Five O A rap sheet To Have a Price on Your
A drug dealer Break the law Head
A pickpocket Behind bars in Cold Blood
Hold Up Juvie Cold case
Break in Locked up A John Doe
A perp Do time Copycat
Shake Down To be soft on crime A life sentence
Make Off With Cut a deal Get busted/To bust
An ex-con Turn In someone
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The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary & Definitions
1. Cops/Popo/Five O: Slang terms for police officers
The cops showed up at the scene just in time to catch the thief.
2. A drug dealer: a person involved in the illegal sale of drugs
The neighborhood has been trying to address the issue of drug dealers on
the streets.
3. A pickpocket: someone who steals directly from people's pockets or bags
Beware of pickpockets in crowded places, like markets or trains.
4. Hold Up: a robbery or theft, often involving the use of force.
There was a hold-up at the convenience store last night.
5. Break in: illegally entering a building or property, typically to commit a crime
The police are investigating a break-in at the warehouse.
6. A perp: short for perpetrator, referring to a person who commits a crime
The detectives are still looking for the perp who stole the valuable artwork.
7. Shake Down: to try and get money from someone
He tried to shake down the store owners and got caught by the police.
8. Make Off With: to escape with stolen goods.
The burglars managed to make off with a significant amount of cash.
9. An ex-con: someone who has been released from prison after serving a
sentence.
Despite being an ex-con, he was determined to turn his life around.
10. A rap sheet: a record of a person's criminal history.
The detective reviewed the suspect's rap sheet to gather information about
previous offenses."
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The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary & Definitions
11. Break the law: to violate or disobey the law.
If you break the law, there are consequences that you have to face.
12. Behind bars: In prison; serving a sentence.
The thief spent several years behind bars after he got caught by police.
13. Juvie: informal term for juvenile detention or a juvenile detention center.
He ended up in juvie after getting into trouble as a teenager.
14. Locked up: in prison
He got locked up for his involvement in the robbery.
15. Do time: to serve a prison sentence
He had to do time for the white-collar crime he committed.
16. To be soft on crime: to have low punishment towards crime
Some argue that being soft on crime can lead to an increase in lawlessness.
17. Cut a deal: to make an agreement with authorities, in exchange for a reduced
sentence or other benefits.
Facing a long sentence, he decided to cut a deal with the prosecution.
18. Turn In: to report or surrender to the authorities.
He decided to turn in his accomplice to the police."
19. To Have a Price on Your Head: to be targeted for harm, typically for a reward
After testifying against the gang, he now has a price on his head."
20. In Cold Blood: without emotion
The murder was committed in cold blood, shocking the entire community.
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The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary & Definitions
21. Cold case: a criminal case that remains unsolved for an extended period.
Detectives reopened the cold case in the hopes of finding new leads.
22. A John Doe: an unidentified or anonymous male person.
The body found in the river was labeled as a John Doe at first.
23. Copycat: someone who imitates or replicates the actions of another person
The second robbery was likely a copycat crime inspired by the first.
24. A life sentence: a prison sentence for the duration of a person's life.
The notorious criminal received a life sentence for his many crimes.
25. Get busted/To bust someone: to be caught by authorities doing something bad
He tried to sell stolen goods, but he got busted by an undercover cop.
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary Review Activities
1. Cops a) Someone who steals from people's pockets or bags
2. A drug dealer b) slang word for police.
3. A pickpocket c) A robbery or theft, often involving the use of force.
4. Hold Up d) A person involved in the illegal sale of drugs
5. Break in e) Illegally entering a building or property
6. A perp f) Someone who has been released from prison
7. Shake Down g) In prison
8. Make Off With h) To report or surrender to the authorities.
9. An ex-con i) A short word for a person who commits a crime
10. A rap sheet j) To force someone to give you money or valuables
11. Break the law k) To be caught or arrested by the police
12. Behind bars l) To make an agreement with authorities in exchange
13. Juvie for a reduced sentence or other benefits.
14. Locked up m) Someone who imitates or replicates the actions of
15. Do time another person
16. To be soft on crime n) A criminal case that remains unsolved
17. Cut a deal o) To escape with stolen goods
18. Turn In p) To violate or disobey the law
19. To Have a Price on Your q) A record of a person's criminal history
Head r) An unidentified or anonymous male person
20. In Cold Blood s) Informal term for juvenile detention
21. Cold case t) In prison
22. A John Doe u) To have a lenient or tolerant attitude towards
23. Copycat criminal activity
24. A life sentence v) Without emotion or mercy
25. Get busted w) To serve a prison sentence
x) A prison sentence for the duration of a person's life
y) To be targeted for harm for a reward
20)v, 21)n, 22)r, 23)m, 24)x, 25)k
Answers: 1) b, 2)d, 3)a, 4)c, 5)e, 6)i, 7)j, 8)o, 9)f, 10)q, 11)p, 12)g/t , 13)s, 14) t/g, 15)w, 16)u, 17)l, 18)h, 19)y,
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary Review Activities
Gap Fill Activity: Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the list.
1. The witness decided to __________ and provide information about the crime.
2. The mafia put a __________ after the informant helped the police.
3. The police received a tip about the __________ operating near the school.
4. The suspect managed to __________ with a bag full of stolen goods.
5. The bank robbery was a dramatic __________ that shocked the entire city.
6. The detective reopened the __________, hoping to find new leads.
7. The police discovered that a __________ was responsible for the missing wallet.
8. The __________ are investigating the recent string of burglaries in the neighborhood.
evidence.
9. Despite being warned, the teenager decided to __________ a store and was caught on
camera.
10. The young offender was sent to __________ for his involvement in the vandalism.
11. The suspect had an extensive __________, including various theft and drug-related
charges.
12. It is important to teach children not to __________ and to respect the law.
13. After being caught, the criminal spent years __________.
14. The judge decided to be __________ due to his age and circumstances.
15. The unsolved murder case became a famous __________ crime that was very similar
to past murders.
16. The crime was committed __________, without any apparent motive.
17. He was an __________ who had served time for 10 years.
18. The suspect was locked up/behind bars for years because of his crimes.
19. Witnesses were afraid to __________ the criminal, fearing retaliation.
20. The criminal had to __________ after being found guilty of theft.
21. The unidentified victim was registered as __________ until his identity could be
determined.
22. The criminal stole over 2 million dollars after his __________ of the store owners.
23. The notorious gang leader finally __________ after years of evading the police.
24. A __________ is when an individual is sentenced to spend their entire life in prison.
25. The detective reviewed the case but couldn't find any clues leading to the
__________ .
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Vocabulary Review Activities- ANSWERS
1. The witness decided to cut a deal and provide information about the crime.
2. The mafia put a price on his head after the informant helped the police.
3. The police received a tip about the drug dealer operating near the school.
4. The suspect managed to make off with with a bag full of stolen goods.
5. The bank robbery was a dramatic break in that shocked the entire city.
6. The detective reopened the cold case, hoping to find new leads.
7. The police discovered that a pickpocket was responsible for the missing wallet.
8. The cops are investigating the recent string of burglaries in the neighborhood.
evidence.
9. Despite being warned, the teenager decided to hold up a store and was caught on
camera.
10. The young offender was sent to juvie for his involvement in the vandalism.
11. The suspect had an extensive rap sheet, including various theft and drug-related
charges.
12. It is important to teach children not to break the law and to respect the law.
13. After being caught, the criminal spent years behind bars/locked up.
14. The judge decided to be soft on crime due to his age and circumstances.
15. The unsolved murder case became a famous copycat crime that was very similar
to past murders.
16. The crime was committed in cold blood, without any apparent motive.
17. He was an ex-con who had served time for 10 years.
18. The suspect was locked up/behind bars for years because of his crimes.
19. Witnesses were afraid to turn in the criminal, fearing retaliation.
20. The criminal had to do time after being found guilty of theft.
21. The unidentified victim was registered as John Doe until his identity could be
determined.
22. The criminal stole over 2 million dollars after his shake down of the store owners.
23. The notorious gang leader finally got busted after years of evading the police.
24. A life sentence is when an individual is sentenced to spend their entire life in
prison.
25. The detective reviewed the case but couldn't find any clues leading to the perp .
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Episode Transcript
Use this transcript to follow along as you listen to the episode for extra English practice
Today on the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, we're starting part one of our exciting crime series. In today's
episode, I'm teaching you 20 phrasal verbs, slang words, and expressions that are all about crime and punishment.
Words like behind bars, a perp, to shake down, a rap sheet, cut a deal, and more. Let's go.
Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly
English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that
will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.
Okay, so let's get into today's episode. I've got to say, I'm really excited about all the topics that I've chosen for the
podcast, but the crime series is one of the topics that I am most excited about. Crime stories and real crime cases
are extremely popular in the USA. If you look at Netflix... And all the streaming platforms, you'll see that we have a
ton of true crime, serial killer, political scandal.
We have a very crime centric culture. And even in real life, you turn on the news, you're going to hear Lots of stuff
about crime. So that's why this is a two part series So we're gonna be talking about crime for the next two episodes,
and I'm so excited for today's episode, I'm teaching 25 crime words that you need to know.
this episode's going to teach you so many new words and I've got to say it was so difficult to cut this down to just
25 words and that's why this is a two part series. And honestly, we'll probably talk more about crime in the future.
So, let me tell you the 25 phrasal verbs, , slang words, expressions that I'm gonna teach you in this episode.
So, first we have cops, popo, and five o, a drug dealer, pickpocket. To hold up, break in, a perp, shake down, make
off with, an ex con, a rap sheet, to break the law, behind bars, juvie, locked up, do time, to be soft on crime. to cut a
deal, to turn in, to have a price on your head, in cold blood, a cold case, a John Doe, a copycat, and a life sentence.
And we've also got A bonus expression to get busted or to bust someone. So those are the 25 words. Now let's get
to the story. This story is packed, so let's get started.
It was just another day for the cops in downtown Gotham, which was an area filled with drug dealers and
pickpockets. There was always a crime to be stopped in Gotham, like stores being held up or residential break ins.
They got a call that a perp called Johnson was shaking down a local business owner, demanding protection money.
When they arrived on the scene, they busted him. Trying to make off with a bag full of cash. They arrested him and
took him to the police station. The police knew Johnson well. He was an ex con with a rap sheet a mile long. and a
reputation for breaking the law.
He had been behind bars twice before, and he even did juvie as a teenager. He had actually spent most of his life
locked up. The only reason he wasn't doing time at the moment was because the new mayor was a bit soft on crime.
Johnson had cut a deal with police in exchange for turning in a notorious crime boss that he worked for.
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Episode Transcript
Now, because of what he did, there was a price on his head. After bringing him in, the detectives interrogated him,
hoping he could give up information on a recent murder in the area. You see, the city of Gotham had an unsolved
murder case from 20 years ago. Two people had been killed in cold blood on the side of the highway.
No suspect had ever been found, and they were now cold cases waiting to be solved. Last week, police found a
John Doe murdered on the side of the highway. Could it be the same killer from 20 years ago? Or was it just a
copycat? The police were hoping to find out if Johnson knew anything about these murders, and if so, they would
offer him a deal to avoid a life sentence.
Unfortunately, he knew nothing of the murders. For now, the mysterious Gotham murders would remain unsolved.
If you recognize the name Gotham, then yes, it is Batman's infamous city I'm a big nerd, so you're going to notice in
this podcast a lot of the names are names that I pull from superhero movies or any kind of nerdy.
Sci fi or fantasy movies and also a lot of the character names are named after my previous Students little fun fact
about me
just a reminder That if you haven't gotten the study guide for this episode, you're definitely gonna wanna go grab it.
The study guide really helps you with the ability to remember these words and use them confidently in your
speaking. All right, so let's take a look here at these words. First off, we've got the word cops.
Cops, poppo. and 5 0 are just three names that we use to talk about police officers. Even though all these words
are technically slang, cops and 5 0 are pretty accepted in society. Everybody calls them that and it's not offensive.
Popo is very much a slang word and it's not as common, but cops, 5 0. popo, they are all equally used to represent
police officers. I'm sure that for most of you, , you know what these words are, but just in case. A drug dealer is
someone who deals drugs, someone who sells drugs to people on the street, illegally. And a pickpocket is someone
who will steal money directly from your pockets or your bags.
Alright, next, they talk about the types of crime that often get committed in Gotham. Stores being held up or
residential break ins. To hold someone up or a hold up is to take someone's money by force.
A break in is when a thief breaks into, that's the phrasal verb, or enters your house illegally. So you can say
someone broke into the house or you can say there was a break in, used as a noun.
next we see that this guy named Johnson is a perp. A perp is a name for a criminal and the longer word is a
perpetrator. Perpetrator is a much more high level word and it means it's someone who does an illegal act. So
that's what a perp is.
Now, this perp named Johnson was shaking down a local business owner.
To shake someone down. is when you use some kind of threat in order to get something from someone. in this case,
he was threatening the shop owners and telling them to give him money or something bad would happen to them.
When the police arrived on the scene, they busted him trying to make off with a bag full of cash.
Alright. to get busted or to bust someone, this is one of the most popular types of slang that we have. when
someone gets caught doing something bad. to bust someone is always when someone's going against the rules or
the law Jaden got busted Sneaking out of his house the criminal got busted trying to rob a store now Then we have
a phrasal verb make off with now you notice here.
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The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Episode Transcript
This is a three word phrasal verb These are really popular in English as well. Normally phrasal verbs are two words,
but this one is three words. To make off with something is when you're able to steal something valuable. So we
typically say, like, if you're watching a movie about some kind of theft or heist, You might see this phrasal verb
make off with and Make off with basically just means to steal something valuable to escape with something
valuable. So he made off with money.
He stole money. All right,The next thing we have is describing Johnson as an ex con. Now the word con here means
convict. Convict is someone who was found guilty and sentenced to serve time in jail. So an ex con is someone who
used to be in prison but they have since been released. So Johnson was someone who has been in prison before.
currently not in prison, and he has a rap sheet a mile long. A rap sheet is basically all of the criminal's prior arrests
or conflicts with the law. This is something you're gonna hear all the time. If you watch any type of crime shows, ,
you're gonna hear about... A RAP sheet. And RAP actually here stands for Record of Arrests and Prosecutions.
I'm sure that most Americans don't even know that. , but basically, yeah, a RAP sheet is a record that law
enforcement has on you.
Now when we say that someone's RAP sheet is a mile long, I know most of you probably don't use miles. So you can
say a kilometer long, it just means that they have a very, very long list of prior crimes. , and then we have here, ,
that he had a reputation for breaking the law. So that's the expression that we use when someone does something
bad.
We don't really say disobey the law, we use the word break. Someone broke the law or broke the rules. That's a
popular collocation that we use for this. , and we have a lot of words that describe somebody who's in jail. We have
behind bars.
So it says, He had been behind bars twice before.
We have the phrasal verb, , lock up, or in this case to be locked up. That also means to be in jail. And then we have
doing time or serving time. So all three of these expressions mean... To serve time in prison. You'll also remember
that we said he even did juvie as a teenager. Juvie is short for juvenile hall and this is a prison of sorts for kids that
are under 18.
So, the way it works in the united States is if you commit a crime, While you are a minor under 18, most of the time
you go to juvenile hall and once you hit 18, once you get out, your record is sealed so no one can see your criminal
record from when you were a minor. Of course there are exceptions to that rule, but that's basically the way that it
works.
Alright, , now we have That the new mayor was soft on crime. Soft on crime, I'm sure you kind of can guess what
this means. But this means that someone does not believe that crime should have maximum punishment. So
sometimes we have political leaders who are very tough or hard on crime. Meaning they set a lot of rules.
There's a lot of punishment for breaking the law. Someone who's soft on crime. It's kind of the opposite, and they
do not believe in strong punishments for most crimes.
Then we have that Johnson cut a deal. We use the word cut with deal to describe someone that accepts a lessened
punishment by the law in exchange for something. usually, if you help the police with a bigger crime or a bigger
criminal, they will give you A lessened punishment, and that's what it means to cut a deal.
© 2023 English with Gabby
The Real Life ENGLISH with Gabby Podcast
Episode #2- Crime Vocabulary
Episode Transcript
So here we see that Johnson cut a deal. You can also say, make a deal. he Made a deal with police in exchange for
turning in a notorious crime boss. To turn someone in means to reveal what someone did to give information or tell
the truth about someone else's actions., he turned in the crime boss, he revealed to the police what the crime boss
did, and in exchange, the police gave him shorter prison time or a lesser punishment.
Now, because of what Johnson did, there was a price on his head. That means that the crime boss that he betrayed
Sent out a message Saying if you kill Johnson, I will give you money So when there's a price on your head That
means that there is a prize or a reward for anyone who catches you or kills you.
When we are describing the murders, we say that two people were killed in cold blood. In cold blood means without
emotions. So the person who killed had no feelings. They did it in a very cold or terrible way.
Now, because no one was arrested for causing these crimes, They were cold cases. they never found who did these
crimes.
Last week, police found a John Doe murdered on the side of the highway. John Doe is the name of a victim who has
not been identified. So if they don't know the name of a dead body. a male victim, they'll name him John Doe, and a
woman will be named Jane Doe.
Could it be the same killer from 20 years ago, or was it just a copycat? A copycat describes someone who just
copies previous person did, usually because they idolized or really respected the criminal that came before them.
And lastly, we have a life sentence.
A life sentence means that someone was sentenced or punished,, to be in jail for the rest of their life. So we can say
life in prison, but we also say he got a life sentence, meaning he's in prison until he dies.
So there you have it. You just learned 25 crime words that are going to help you understand American culture so
much better. Don't forget to tune in for the second part of the crime series, which is coming up next in episode 3.
Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the RealLife English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today's
study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget
to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a
review.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
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