British "geezer" = American "gangster"?

[Joel S. Berson]

Some support for the "gangster" sense:

On this evening's Biography channel repeat of the Midsomer Murders'
episode "A Tale of Two Hamlets", the first (so far) murder victim, an
actor, was known for a role in a film or series about East End
gangsters called  "The Diamond Geezers".

I now discover there is a real TV program titled "Diamond Geezer"!  A
DVD being sold right between two Midsomer murder episodes:
http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=204;5;36;70&sku=594525
And at least one National Theatre company actor (William
Scott-Masson) taking credit for appearing in it.

(An ITV inside joke on Midsomer Murders?)

Joel

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 Jonathon Green wrote:
>No, a geezer is not a gangster. The Streets (one person rather than
>a group, as it happens) is very much into charting the life of . ..
>a geezer, in other words, an ordinary bloke. A gangster might be
>also be a geezer, and quite possible referred to as such by by his
>fellow geezers, and indeed gangsters (hence the OED cites), but
>geezer doesn't mean gangster as such. As you suggest in your final
>par, it means a 'chap' or 'bloke'. The image is usually
>working-class, probably London or the Cockney colonies of Essex, and
>could be, but doesn't have to be a bit of a Jack the Lad. For
>echt-geezer-dom I recommend the lyrics of the late and quite
>irreplacable Ian Dury. Those of 'Billericay Dickie' being especially
>indicative of the type. So, there you are. Orright, my son? As
>geezers are wont to say amongst themselves.

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