Korvosan slang

Like many other places in the Inner Sea region, the Varisian city of Korvosa has its own Taldane slang words. Below is a short listing of some of the more common.

Chel

Chel is a mildly derogatory term for a Chelaxian person. Although common throughout the world, in Korvosa the word has become a vicious ethnic slur that can get the user beaten or even lynched if applied to the wrong person.

Dancer

Dancer denotes a pickpocket, thief, or cutpurse who works his trade in a crowd. It comes from the mistaken assumption that all Varisians like to dance and all Varisians are thieves. Someone who dances for a living is known as a "performer".

Empty

Term for a beggar, transient, or other poor, homeless person. "Empty" refers to the belief that the lives of such people are without merit and meaning, and that their death shouldn't raise concern.

Fronter

A fronter refers to a poor person who lives in the down-and-out Bridgefront neighborhood of Korvosa. It is sometimes used as a playful term among Korvosan aristocrats, and also carries the connotation of the person being dirty.

Gater

Gater refers to someone who lives in Korvosa's Northgate neighborhood, and is even used by people who live there as a demonym.

Hogslop

The plague of shiver addiction in Korvosa reached such a point that the Korvosan Guard began referring to corpses of overdosed addicts as "hogslop", for drug dens' common practice of feeding the bodies to pigs.

Horser

Horser is a very offensive term for a Shoanti or other tribal member, and carries with it the connotation of bestiality.

Imper

Imper is the term used for young students who study magic at the Acadamae.

Moth

Moth is a term for a full-blooded Varisian. Because so many Korvosans are at least partially of Varisian descent, the term is quite mild, and is often used to denote the Varisians who still follow their traditional nomadic lifestyle. Among this latter group, the term is sometimes quite offensive, while other nomadic Varisians use it playfully to refer to themselves or others in their social group.

Pincher

Pincher refers to a poor person who survives on only a few copper pinches a month.

Sails

Sails is a term for one or more ships.

Solly

Solly is a shortening of the term "solidarity" and refers to those who wish to unionize or form a guild. It is a very offensive term in Korvosa, where almost all such organizations are banned.

Solly slop

A highly offensive term for excrement or trash that was referred to an unskilled laborer (who were most likely to unionize).