Have you ever heard of a "flesh bag"? It's convict slang for a shirt.

Are you familiar with the term "barnacles"? That's convict speak for spectacles, or glasses.

"Resurrection cove" was not a picnic destination but a convict term for a person who stole bodies from graves to sell to anatomy students.

Convict lexicon has been captured in a new book by author and illustrator Simon Barnard.

How good is your convict slang? Beak: a magistrate Betty: to pick a lock Bolt: to run away Bum-trap: a sherriff's officer Buz: to pick a pocket Crap: the gallows Danna: human or other excrement Dingable: anything considered worthless Fibbing-match: a boxing match Finger-smith: midwife Scot: a person of irritable temper Toddler: an infirm elderly person Whiddler: a talkative person

He described it as a secret language "spoken by criminals to deceive or confuse people outside of their group".

The language of the convicts in the early 1800s was so steeped in slang, it was difficult for outsiders to understand.

It was especially designed to confuse judges and magistrates.

"In the early days of colonisation, an interpreter was required to interpret the deposition of the witness and the accused," Barnard said.

Tasmanian convict James Hardy Vaux's manuscript on convict slang is being described as Australia's first dictionary. ( Supplied: Simon Barnard )

But in 1812 a convict named James Hardy Vaux provided a translation of the "flash" or "cant" language of criminals, by compiling a dictionary of convict slang.

His manuscript made its way back to England, and was published in 1819.

Simon Barnard believes it was Australia's first dictionary.

"Our convict history looms large, and to think that our first dictionary was written by a convict about criminal words, it's just so fascinating," said Simon Barnard.

On its 200th anniversary, Barnard has republished the dictionary, along with stories and examples of how the slang was used.

An excerpt of convict slang from Simon Barnard's book. ( Supplied: Simon Barnard )

"I discovered the book when I was about 10 or 12 in a box of books I bought at auction, and I have looked at it off and on over the years," he said.

Vaux was an author, forger and translator of convict language.

"He's a really interesting guy — born in 1782, was well-educated, and had respectable parentage," Barnard said.

"But he chucked it all in for villainy. He loved gambling, and drinking, and stealing."

Acting curator of Hyde Park Barracks Mel Flyte said Vaux was able to ingratiate himself in colonial Tasmania. ( Supplied: Stuart Miller )

Acting curator of Hyde Park Barracks Mel Flyte said it led to Vaux being transported three times, which she labelled extremely unusual.

"There are a lot of reports to suggest he was the only convict that was transported three times," she said.

Vaux first was convicted of stealing a handkerchief, and was sentenced to seven years transportation.

In 1810, he was sentenced to life for stealing jewellery. Then, in 1831, the last sentence was reinstated when he was caught passing forged bank notes.

Mel Flyte said despite being unable to keep out of trouble, Vaux was described in newspaper stories as respectable and hard working.

"It's a really interesting life of getting away with things, because of his ability to ingratiate himself with the important people in the colony," she said.

He also wrote an autobiography.

"We see the trajectory of his life, we see how he falls into rough times, we see his education, we see the conditions on the way over here," Ms Flyte said.

In 1839, Vaux was charged with the attempted sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl.

"This is finally when the newspapers start reporting him not as being this kind of playful, eccentric individual, but being a kind of degenerate, and so the tide finally turns against him," said Ms Flyte.

'Snitch, snooze and stash' live on

A drawing referring to convicts as "canary birds" — slang for convicts derived from their yellow uniforms. ( Supplied: State Library NSW )

In 1841, Vaux disappeared from the public record.

But his definitions for 700 convict slang terms have survived two centuries.

Some are still in use, like seedy, snitch, snooze, square and stash.

But others, like "snuff racket", are of their time.

"Someone would walk into a shop and throw snuff at the shop keeper's face to blind them, and then steal stuff," Barnard said.

"Convicts did that … and were transported for it."

Barnard has trawled through court documents and old newspapers, and found stories to illustrate the slang words.

"When cat and kitten stealer William Dickson fronted court, a policeman had to inform the magistrate that Dickson didn't steal felines but valuable pewter mugs, so named for the resemblance … to the shape [of] a cat's body and tail," he said.

Convict Charles Hogan was a "leech gatherer".

He would collect leeches at Port Arthur for the doctors, who used hundreds of them every month to clean patients' wounds and to cleanse them of impure blood.

Barnard has illustrated his revamped version of the dictionary.

"They're humorous little black and white things, drawn in a style so they look like wood cuts," he said.

He hopes the book will revive interest in the story of Vaux and convict language.

"We love our convict history, but hopefully we revive these terms and the love of colourful language," he said.