"son of a gun"

[Fred Shapiro]

yOn Sun, 21 Jan 2001, Gerald Cohen wrote:

>      Actually, I believe Cassell (which I do not have before me) is on
> the right track. "Gun" besides referring to a firearm, was also a
> cant term for "thief," at least in the 19th century. For example, one
> can read about "the guns and their molls," i.e., the thieves and
> their women/wives. And this "gun" is known to derive from Yiddish
> "gonnof" (thief).  Both "gun" (thief) and "gonnof" were present in
> British cant.

Then why is "son of a gun" attested 150 years before this usage of "gun"?
Was English influenced by Yiddish in 1700?

Fred Shapiro



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