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How does slang differ from cant and argot?

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Walpole, Horace — Slang Horace Walpole, detail of an oil painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1757; in the City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, England.

While these terms are often used interchangeably to describe nonstandard language, they possess distinct nuances in linguistics.

Slang consists of unconventional, often flippant or irreverent words and phrases used to express new ideas or provide social criticism. It is characterized by its colorful metaphors and is frequently used to challenge respectability. Unlike more specialized vocabularies, slang is defined by its informal, nonstandard nature and its tendency to be composed of coinages or facetious figures of speech.12

Cant and argot are more specialized forms of language. In England, cant specifically refers to the secret or specialized speech of criminal classes. In the United States, this same type of specialized, often secret vocabulary used by a particular group is more commonly referred to as argot.13

While slang is generally understood as a broad category of informal, nonstandard usage, cant and argot function as esoteric or technical languages that are often not intended to be intelligible to those outside the specific group—such as criminals or specialized professionals—who use them.1