[Ads-l] to kamashaw something

[Will Salmon]

Nice. Thanks much!
Will

> On Mar 15, 2021, at 4:43 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: to kamashaw something
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I expect this is a variant of _cumshaw_, ultimately from Amoy, originally referring to a gratuity or (more broadly) a bribe, but evolving into something along the lines of what you're describing.
> 
> HDAS has this as sense 2 of _cumshaw_ v., 'to obtain by devious or ingenious methods; scrounge', with a first quotation from 1918 in US Navy use, and frequent in the Vietnam War.
> 
> Jesse Sheidlower
> 
>> On Mon, Mar 15, 2021 at 04:02:21PM -0500, William Salmon wrote:
>> Hello,
>> Does anyone on the list know the term "kamashaw" [not sure about spelling]
>> from military slang, meaning to steal bits of military property for
>> personal use? As in, "Those are regulation US Navy spoons that the ship's
>> cook kamashawed."
>> 
>> Any insight on this word would be appreciated.
>> Thanks all!
>> Will
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Professor of Linguistics
>> Head | Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies
>> University of Minnesota Duluth
>> https://williamsalmon.com
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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