VLVL(7) Vocabulary

[Mark Wright AIA]

Howdy

Nice catch, JC. I never knew 'gunsel' had this meaning, but you are
right:  from Yiddish "Ga(mit uuumlaut)nslein" meaning gosling or little
goose  1 A naive youth; a homosexual youth, esp. a passive one kept by
a tramp. 2 an informer; a criminal, a gunman. (from shorter OED)

Fabulous! I especially like that "...kept by a tramp." I think most
amerikans my age (40/50) think of it only in the last sense 'gunman'.
It makes Spade's crack about gunsels hanging around in hotel lobbies,
"...their heaters bulging in their pockets," even more precise and
needling.

Lovely word.

Mark


--- John Carvill <jcarvill at algsoftware.com> wrote:
> >"gunsel" (p105) "gunman"
> 
> And in Chandler/Hammett, also means homosexual. Eg. in The Maltese
> Falcon,
> Gutman's bodygaurd, Wilmer, is also his lover or catamite.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> John
> 
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