Slim jim (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Lynne's blog recently mentioned the primarily British words busk and
derivitives.

As her commenters note, this word is common in Rennaisance Fair circles.
It's also
pretty well known in magic (the sleight of hand kind).  Some American
cites:


"Didja Ever" by Frank Stratton.  _Genii_ (American conjuring magazine),
vol 3 no 11, July 1939,  p. 358 col 2.

"Didja ever "busk"? If you haven't you have really missed part of your
education in showmanship. If you don't know what "busking" is, just ask
any old trouper or drop me a line."


"Demon Paul," by Tommy Windsor _The New Tops_ (American conjuring
magazine), Nov 1972, p. 44. col 1

"He got permission to borrow them and lugged them across the street to
the corner where he was going to busk."


>
> The recent discussion of 'pry' and 'prise' on Lynne Murphy's
> (addictive) blog ...
>
> (http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/05/strike
> s-and-prying-in-grauniad.html)
>
> ... has made me wonder about the 'slim jim,' a common
> lock-picking tool for car doors (at least in my usage).  OED
> has 'slim jim' in the sense 'something long and thin or
> narrow' from 1916, but doesn't mention the lock-picking tool
> (or the beef stick, but I can forgive that), which I would
> think should be a fairly established term.  I wonder if the
> development of 'slim jim' has been affected by 'Jimmy' (v.)
> meaning to 'force open a door' (attested from 1893 in OED).
>
> Here's the Wikipedia on slim jim (lock pick), as *conclusive
> proof* if you don't believe me.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Jim_(lock_pick)
>
> Joel Shaver
> University of Glasgow
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org