What other specific code words appear in the Epstein files and how have investigators interpreted them?
Executive summary
The newly released Epstein files include numerous recurring ordinary words—“pizza,” “cheese,” “grape soda,” “Chinese cookie,” “bobby,” “snow white” and even references to “Disney Princesses”—that investigators and commentators have flagged as possible slang or code but have also repeatedly cautioned can be misread when stripped of context [1] [2] [3]. Official reviews and journalists stress that frequency alone does not prove illicit meaning, and the Department of Justice’s broader disclosures and guidance reflect both the volume of material and the limits of what can be reliably inferred from isolated terms [4] [5] [3].
1. What words show up repeatedly in the files and where those claims come from
The most frequently cited tokens are food-related: “pizza” appears hundreds of times across documents (reported counts vary—859 in one outlet, “900+” in another), and “cheese” and pizza-related emojis are singled out by some outlets as unusually common in communications tied to Epstein [6] [3] [7]. Other words identified across reporting include “grape soda,” “Chinese cookie,” and the name “bobby,” while civil filings and media reporting have drawn attention to phrases like “snow white” and references to “Disney Princesses” as alleged euphemisms for young women [1] [2].
2. How investigators and legal experts have interpreted those words
Investigators, legal experts and DOJ officials have urged caution: some have cataloged these terms as search leads or slang that warrant further examination, but warned that repeated ordinary words are not proof of criminal activity without corroborating context such as explicit sexual content, logistics or victim testimony [3]. Law enforcement documents released or described in reporting show analysts used terms as part of broader searches through millions of pages, treating them as potential indicators rather than standalone evidence [5] [4].
3. Specific interpretive claims that circulated and the evidence for them
Online commentators and certain news outlets revived notions that “cheese,” “pizza,” or shorthand like “CP” have historically been associated with child sexual material—claims amplified by pattern-seeking in large data dumps—but those interpretations have not been substantiated by public law enforcement filings as definitive code in Epstein’s network [3] [7]. Some civil filings alleged “snow white” and “Disney Princesses” functioned as code for young women in communications between Epstein and associates, which prosecutors and reporters flagged for follow-up rather than treating as conclusive proof [2].
4. How the media environment shaped interpretation—and the rise of conspiracy echoes
The mix of millions of pages, partial redactions and selective screenshots created fertile ground for viral reinterpretation and “Pizzagate”-style resurrection: officials explicitly warned against leaping from frequent mentions to conspiratorial claims, noting that isolated words were screenshotted and recirculated without the surrounding emails, attachments or investigative notes that might explain them [3] [5]. At the same time, sensational reporting and social posts highlighted counts and odd phrases, which amplified speculation even where investigators had not publicly tied the words to specific criminal acts [7] [6].
5. Official limits, corrections and the evidentiary bottom line
The DOJ’s document releases and subsequent internal memos underline two limits: the files were collected from multiple investigations and include routine, unrelated material, and officials have said they found no credible evidence in these collections that Epstein used such files to blackmail prominent individuals—an explicit narrowing of what the records prove [4] [8]. Further, the Justice Department and news organizations have had to withdraw or correct items after poor redactions exposed victim information, making careful interpretation and protective review an ongoing process [9].
6. Bottom line: words as leads, not verdicts
The files present a long list of repeating, suggestive words that investigators and reporters rightly flagged as worth scrutiny—“pizza,” “cheese,” “grape soda,” “Chinese cookie,” “bobby,” “snow white,” among others—but the public record released so far shows these are investigatory hooks requiring contextual corroboration, not certified codebooks proving specific criminal meanings on their own [1] [3] [4]. Where allegations have been made in court filings or by victims, those instances demand follow-up; where only frequency or isolated screenshots exist, multiple official sources caution restraint and further analysis [2] [5].