Word.ws English Dictionary

Brixton shuffle

Brixton shuffle noun: a shuffling style of walking associated with former prisoners.

Noun

Brixton shuffle (plural not attested)

  1. (UK, no plural, slang) A shuffling style of walking associated with former prisoners.
    • […] bearing unmistakably that scrubbed, carbolic look which is the hallmark of people who have lived in institutions. This institutional aura is as easy to detect as is the Brixton shuffle which characterises the gait of a man who has been 'inside'.1978, Mark Goulden, Mark My Words!, page 189
    • You got into the Brixton shuffle. Shove, step, fuck off. Shove, step, fuck off, until you were clear. She didn't know what it was about Brixton; it was over some fault and allowed a strange brew, a ghost beer, to snake out from the earth's entrails: […]2001, Tibor Fischer, Don't Read this Book If You're Stupid, page 238

Origin of Brixton shuffle

In reference to HM Prison Brixton and its exercise yard.

Questions about Brixton shuffle

What does Brixton shuffle mean?
Brixton shuffle means a shuffling style of walking associated with former prisoners.
What part of speech is Brixton shuffle?
Brixton shuffle is a noun.

Words near Brixton shuffle in the dictionary

  1. Brixey
  2. Brixeys
  3. Brixham
  4. Brixit
  5. Brixton
  6. Brixton shuffle
  7. Brixworth
  8. Briz
  9. brize
  10. Brizendine
  11. Brizendines

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Brixton shuffle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Brixton shuffle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/brixton_shuffle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.