Word you should never say in jail

Gritty real-life plot shows how innocent prison language mistake can potentially get you killed

"Seeya champ". It's a friendly farewell uttered thousands of times a day around Australia.

But when likeable prison cleanskin Adam cheerily says it to another lag in the new series of Mr Inbetween, the response he receives is first chilling - then becomes violently horrifying.

His mistake? Not knowing that "champ", in prison slang, is a grotesque sexual slur that means anything but "champion".

The gritty, breathtaking scene is part of an engrossing sub-plot that bring home the brutality of life behind bars in the third and final season of the star-studded homegrown show, which launches today on Foxtel.

Words can hurt ... Sam Cotton’s character Adam (left) is menaced by Julian Maroun’s Harris in Mr Inbetween Season 3. Credit: J Pratley/Foxtel

As a unique comedy-drama, Mr Inbetween's many flashes of warmth and hilarity somehow blend perfectly with moments that are much darker. When Adam, played by Sam Cotton, finds himself on the inside with the aggressive Harris (Julian Maroun), all elements combine with stunning realism.

Creator and writer Scott Ryan, who plays main man Ray Shoesmith, achieved this through "a lot of research". Much of that came through talking to people who had spent time in jail - then using their experiences, and language, on screen.

"Those stories just made their way into the show," he says. "They are real-life things."

Among them is the "champ" issue, which Ryan discovered is very, very real, from a former prisoner who "had all sorts of problems" when he used it as an innocent salute.

Reality TV ... Scott Ryan (pictured in character as Ray Shoesmith in Season 3) has done his time researching jail life. Credit: Joel Pratley/Foxtel.

"It is definitely a thing in jail," Ryan says. So much so, the relevant episode is called Champ. "If you say that to somebody you have got to expect you are going to have a bad day."

Prison slang, like that of many institutions and social groups, can be a complex minefield - often featuring words that mean the very opposite of what you would assume. "Champ" is obscene, "put it in the safe" is grubby, while "boob" has no physical reference whatsoever.

The argot has been around since Victorian times, or perhaps earlier, and is constantly evolving, with certain differences between states and locations.

"Each social group develops their own language that helps them define themselves," said one language expert who, due to their work in the justice system, cannot be named. "In one sense it is also to exclude other people - in prison that is principally the police and warders."

Stairway to hell ... unfortunately for Adam, things get a lot worse after his innocent blunder. Pic Credit: J Pratley/Foxtel

New prisoners will often adopt the vernacular in an attempt to fit in. The expert mentioned one prisoner who refused to use it, out of a sense of superiority - and as a result was excluded.

However slang is not, the expert added, often used as a "secret code" to talk in front of authorities, as any official working in the penal system soon picks it up themselves.

If you're planning a stint behind bars (we don't recommend it), here are a few prison terms to start you off. For more, try our prison slang tests below from the On Guard podcast series- and see how it all works on Mr Inbetween today.