FW: hand job 'deception'

[Frank Abate]

Ron B commented (below) on what Larry H noted:

>>
In a message dated 1/7/03 8:09:03 PM, laurence.horn at YALE.EDU writes:

> (as opposed to taboo avoidance)
>
> On a recent NYPD blue, the head of the squad, Lt. Tony Rodriguez,
> uses "hand job" in the sense of 'con job'.  He's talking to his
> ex-wife, who is trying to get off drugs, explaining how he had to
> call in a lot of favors to get her into a detox center in Brooklyn.
> "So if this is another hand job...", he says.  To which she assures
> him that no, she's really serious about quitting this time.  Is this
> use of the compound otherwise attested?  Or were they just trying to
> see if we were paying attention and/or trying to earn their "viewer
> discretion" label?
>
> larry
>

Or maybe we are just supposed to think that Rodriguez is a bit of a poet,
given to speaking metaphorically with metaphors that he creates himself.

At any rate, I've never heard hand job 'deception' myself. Come to think
about it, it isn't a very good metaphor, is it? That is to say, a "hand job"
is not very likely to be a deception.

<<


One possibility is that the dialogue refers to a hand job as a poor
alternative to sexual intercourse.  Since the scene involves a husband and
wife, that might be the idea behind the use of "hand job" here.


Frank Abate