Philadelphia Racketeer Slang (1928) ("Gorillas from th' Big Apple")

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   From the clippings files in Temple University.  I apologize in advance for
typing mistakes.
   The PHILADELPHIA EVENING BULLETIN, 5 October 1928, pg. 40:

_Racketeers' Here Invent Rapid-Fire Lingo_
_To Carry On Business in Bootleg Industry_

_"Bootician's" Trial and Grand_
_Jury's "Up=and=Down" Reveal_
_Jargon That WOuld Astonish_
_a College Professor_

_"Czars" and "Barons" Rule Un-_
_derworld Empire of "Wildcats,"_
_"Bulls,: "Gorillas," "Mules," and_
_"Blind Pigs"_

   "HELLOW!  'Zat you, Reds?"
   "Yeh."
   "This is Goo-Goo speaking.  How's that mule you're cleaning?"
   "Block-an' fall."
   "Hm-mm.  Well, have th' cooker, give it th' frown anyway.  We gotta shoot
tonight."
   "Yeh, if th' dicks don't knock us off."
   "Whaddaya mean!  Are yuh getting th' snakes?  Th' bulls are taking it,
ain't they?"
   "Yeh, but most of 'em are nuts, since this up-and-down."
   "I know!  I know!  I'm sending yuh a couple of trailers, with tin
shirts--gorillas from th' Big Apple.  We shoot tonight--or somebody gets
taken for a ride!"
   "I getcha.  Goo!"
   What sort of gibberish is this?
   It is merely the new language of the "Racket"--the jargon, which has grown
up with the bootlegging industry.
   Translation of the above imaginary telephone conversation, between a
bootleg "czar" and one of his "barons," into polite English, would go
something like this:
   "Hello!  Is that you Reds?"
   "Yes."
   "This is Goo-Goo speaking.  How is the illicit white liquor that you are
manufacturing from specially denatured alcohol?"
   "It is very unsatisfactory--in fact, dangerous to drink."
   "Hm-mm.  Well, instruct the operator of the still to add the coloring
material, notwithstanding.  We must start shipping this liquor tonight."
   "What do you mean?  Are you becoming afflicted with delirium tremens?  The
police are accepting bribes to remain silent and to warn you of impending
raids, are they not?"
   "Yea, but most of them are officials who will not accept bribes, since
this Grand Jury investigation."
   "I am fully aware of that fact!  I am sending you two armed guards for
your liquor truck, with bullet-proof vests--rough and redoutable men from New
York.  We start shipping liquor tonight--or someone will be abducted in a
motor car and murdered, and his body will be thrown into some lonely
locality."
   :"I comprehend your instructions, too!"
   Built on the more or less familiar ring of the underworld, this
bootleggers' (Col. 2--ed.) jargon has given birth to so many new terms in the
last few years that even an experienced detective, sitting within earshot of
two "racketeers," would be puzzled by at least some of their conversation.
   It's an interesting "language," this "racket" lingo' so interesting, in
fact, that prohibition agents under Lieutenant Colonel Samuel O. Wynne, U. S.
Prohibition Administrator for the Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania
area,have started compiling a word-list of terms used by "racketeers."
   "They're amusing--some of the terms," said Colonel Wynne.  "And it is
profitable for men who come in contact with bootleggers to know their
language.  Needless to say, however, our reports are still made in English."
   The first of the many "racket" terms was made "officially" public when
David D. Friedman, a special prohibition investigator, testified in court
that Joel D. Kerper, the so-called "bootician" (bootlegger to elite society),
kept his "varnish," "furniture polish," etc., in a "drop."  It was explained
in court just what a "drop" is--a place where any kind of contraband liquor
is stored for distribution.
   "A 'drop' may be anything from a warehouse, supplying a number of
'joints,' to a garbage can in an alley, where a small-time 'speakeasy' keeps
its stock of drinks," said Alexander P. MacPhee, Assistant Prohibition
Administrator.  "Then I have known of 'walking drops.'  One man we 'knocked
off' had twenty-six half pints of 'white mule' concealed in special pockets
in his clothing.
   "Do you know what a 'dump' is?  Of course, it means a 'joint' or 'dive' or
'blind pig'--that is, a 'speakeasy.'  But it also has a new special meaning.
A 'dump' is a contrivance whereby (Col. 3--ed.) the bartender can get rid of
the evidence in a hurry when he is 'jumped'--that is, raided.
   "In a 'speakeasy' that sells only 'shots' or drinks--no bottled goods--the
'dump' is simply a big funnel behind the bar, with a hose leading to an
ash-pile or something in the basement.  The liquor is in a pitcher right
beside the funnel, and when the raid breaks, the bartender 'dumps' the liquor
into the funnel.
   "In places that sell half-pints and pint bottles, the 'hooch' is kept in a
specially built five-gallon copper tank, with a big hole in the bottom
leading to the ash-pile.  There's a big stopper in the bottom, like a
bath-tub plug, only bigger, hitched to a rope that the bartender keeps in one
hand.  When the 'joint' is 'jumped' he yanks the rope, and the 'dump' does
the rest.  You've got to be as quick as lightning and keep him from pulling
that rope, or your evidence is gone."
   Here are a few more terms and definitions from the "Racket" vocabulary:
   "Alky," alcohol; "alley," a place where beer is made illegally.
   "Baloney," nonsense; "bang," a hypodermic narcotic dose; "baron," a leader
of a group of bootleggers; "the Big Apple," New York CIty; "the big boys,"
men in power; "big house," a penitentiary; "block-and-fall," very strong and
doubtful liquor; "blow out," to throw out of court; "boat," a beer-laden
freight car; "boiler," a still; "brannigan," a spree; "broad," a woman; "bump
off," to kill, to raid; "burn," to electrocute.
   "Can," a still, a jail, to discard; "cannon," a pickpocket; "captain," a
susceptible person; "chef," one who regulates a still; "clink," a jail;
"cover-up house," a place used by permitees to divert alcohol to bootleg
channels; "crash," to gain entrance to; "crowd," an organization; "czar," the
supreme ruler of a "racketeer," metropolis; "cut," to dilute, diluted, a
share; "cutting plant," a place where moonshine liquor or redistilled alcohol
is deiluted with water and colored with burnt sugar.
   "D. O. D.," a very potent liquor (death on delivery); "darb," something
magnificent; "drag," a share, influence; "drill," to shoot.
   "Fade," to disappear; "five yards," $500; "fix," to arrange, to bribe, to
(Col. 4--ed.) kill; "fixer," one who arranges a bribe or other matter;
"frisk," to search.
   "Gab," a conversation, to converse; "gaff joint," a dishonest gambling
establishment; "gat," a pistol; "get," to kill, to capture, to defeat, to
understand; "giggle coup," liquor; "gink," a traitor; "give the works," to
kill; "graft," illegal profits, a scheme; "grand," $1,000; "gun," a crook, a
hypodermic narcotic outfit.
   "Hardware," a pistol, weapons; "harness bull," a policeman in uniform;
"hijack," to steal a liquor shipment; "hijacker," a bootlegger-pirate;
"hoist," to commit highway robbery.
   "Jam," to compromise, a predicament; "joint," a low establishment, a home;
"jolt," a drink of whisky' "jump," to raid, to arrest.
   "King," a leader of a group of "barons;" "knock off," to kill, to raid, to
put out of business.
   "Lamp," an eye, to look at; "licker up," to drink plentifully; "load," a
quantity; "loaded," intoxicated, prepared; "lush," a drunkard; "lushken," a
saloon.
   "The main drag," the main street or highway; "massage," to drub severely;
"mitt broad," a female fortune teller; "mob," an organized gang of crooks;
"money-man," a financial backer; "mouthpiece," an attorney; "mule," moonshine
whisky with a "kick."
   "Needle," to irritate, as a person, or to strengthen, as a liwuor;
"needled beer," beer containing more than one-half of one per cent alcohol;
"nip," a small "jolt" of whisky; "noodle-soup," nonsense.
   "oil," whisky, to bribe; "oiled," intoxicated; "once-over," a cursory
inspection; "outfit," a gang or organization.
   "Palooka," a simpleton, a tyro; "papa," a "gold-digger's" patron. a
husband; "pay-off," payment of a bribe; "pill," a bullet; "plant," a
subterfuge, a place where peddlers keep supplies; "poker-faced," inscrutable;
"pre-war," liquor made or alleged to be made before the World War; "promote,"
to steal; "protection," official assistance in return for a bribe; "pusher,"
a "small-time guy" who sells for a large dealer; "Put in the middle," to
compromise.
   "Queer," counterfeit; "the queer," counterfeit money.
   "Racket," a revel, a quarrel, a protest, a noise, a scheme, a profession
or business, the bootleg industry and all its branches; "rake-off," an
illicit share of profits; "razz," to criticize vociferously; "reaf stuff,"
liquor of pre-war waulity; "red eye," colored "mule" liquor; "ride," to
punish, to reprimand, a death trip by motor car; "rod," a pistol; "rot-gut,"
vile shisky; "rum row," a group of liquor-laden vessels at sea beyond
jurisdiction; "runner," a "hustler," an operator fo a liquor truck.
   "Salty," severe; "sand-bag," to deceive. to knock out; "sell," to
convince, to deceive; "sell-out," to betray, (Col. 5--ed.) a betrayal;
"set-up," and "easy mark," a pre-arranged outcome; "shake-down," to extort
moeny from, extortion; "shanty," a bruised eye; "shot," a drink of whisky, a
photograph, a chance, a hypodermic narcotic dose, intoxicated, exhausted;
"shot beer," same as "needled" beer; "sleogh ride," to deceive, a trick;
"smacl," a blow, a dollar, a kiss; "smile," a drink of whisky; "smoke,"
tenderloin whisky, ten cents a "shot;" "snifter," a small drink of whisky;
"snort," a large drink of whisky; "snootful," a large wuantity of drafts of
intoxicating liquor; "street," tp eject.
   "Take," to defraud; "take for a ride," to abduct and murder in a motor
car, "take it," to accept bribes; "third-rail," whisky of high "voltage;"
"tin," money, a detective's badge; "tincan," to deceive, to "lay down," a
dilapidated motor car; "tumble," to be hoazed. to understand, an
understanding, a chance; "turnip," a watch; "two-time," to deceive.
   "Up-and-up," honest; "up-and-down," an investigation.
   "Varnish," op-called "rye" whisky; "velvet," clear profit.
   "Weenie," a sausage of the "hot-dog" type, a chorus girl; "wild-cat," a
place where beer is made illegally; "white mule," clear "mule" quality
whisky; "wood," a beer keg.
   "Yen," to have a desire; money; a dollar; a desire.
   The "Racket" language is so amusing that high officials are taking a hand
in supplying words for the vocabulary.
   William F. Knauer, Deputy Attorney Gerneral of Pennsylvania, in charge of
liquor law enforcement, contributed the term "blow out."
   Judge John Monaghan, District Attorney of Philadelphia, who is
investigating the doings of the "Racketeer," invented a slang term himself,
"trucketeer," which means a bootlegger's truck driver/
   Any one can learn enough of the vocabulary to amek himself understood.
But to speak the language is more difficult.  It is spoken from the corner of
one's "mug," with appropriate movement of the eyebrows and hands, palms down.
   And after one has mastered the "racket" lingo, he has just begun, for the
underworld abounds in special dialects and jargons, each in its own field.
Pickpockets, "con" men. dope peddlers, and other "professionals" all have
jargons of their own.