Lesson plan
Shiv
A shiv (also chiv or shivvie) or shank is an improvised pointed or bladed prison weapon resembling a knife. The word shiv is recorded from the 1670s (in the spelling chive) as cant for "knife". The exact spelling shiv is recorded in underworld slang from 1915. The cant word probably derives from the Romani word "blade" (compare Romani "knifeman"). The derived verb to shiv means "to stab (someone) with a shiv", and a shivver is an archaic term for a criminal who attacks victims with a knife. Since weapons are prohibited in prisons, the intended mode of concealment is central to a shiv's construction. An especially thin handle, for instance, makes it easier to conceal in available cracks or crevices in the prison's construction, or in stacks of objects, such as books, permitted to the prisoners; however, this can also render the shiv difficult to grip and wield. Routine body searches in prison make it difficult to conceal a shiv on one's person on a continuous basis. As well as the prison authorities, it is also desirable to conceal possession of a shiv from members of rival prison populations.
Article summary
A shiv (also chiv or shivvie) or shank is an improvised pointed or bladed prison weapon resembling a knife. The word shiv is recorded from the 1670s (in the spelling chive) as cant for "knife". The exact spelling shiv is recorded in underworld slang from 1915. The cant word probably derives from the Romani word "blade" (compare Romani "knifeman"). The derived verb to shiv means "to stab (someone) with a shiv", and a shivver is an archaic term for a criminal who attacks victims with a knife. Since weapons are prohibited in prisons, the intended mode of concealment is central to a shiv's construction. An especially thin handle, for instance, makes it easier to conceal in available cracks or crevices in the prison's construction, or in stacks of objects, such as books, permitted to the prisoners; however, this can also render the shiv difficult to grip and wield. Routine body searches in prison make it difficult to conceal a shiv on one's person on a continuous basis. As well as the prison authorities, it is also desirable to conceal possession of a shiv from members of rival prison populations.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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