the verb gank

[Jesse T Sheidlower]

>
> >Where does the term "gank," for stealing, as in "I ganked
> >this t-shirt from my ex-boyfriend." come from? Is it a
> >blend of "grab" and "yank"?
>
> my friend was surprised to hear that i'd never heard this verb
> before, and that it was listed in neither RHHDAS nor DARE.  i
> probed a bit:

I am quite sure that _gank_ was discussed on ADS-L several
years ago (along with _gaffle,_ if memory serves). That was
the first I had heard of it. I'm not sure if we subsequently
uncovered any additional evidence for HDAS.

Jesse Sheidlower
<jester at panix.com>