Difference between revisions of "Chapter 10"
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'''Sombrero of Uneasiness'''<br /> | '''Sombrero of Uneasiness'''<br /> | ||
Comes from a 1930s American expression that was used humorously or metaphorically to describe a feeling of anxious self-consciousness — like having a visible sign of worry “on your head.” A tongue-in-cheek way to dramatize social embarrassment or creeping anxiety. It’s a comic metaphor... imagine someone sitting in a room wearing a big sombrero — conspicuous, out of place, calling attention to himself. The “uneasiness” is similarly visible and impossible to hide. | Comes from a 1930s American expression that was used humorously or metaphorically to describe a feeling of anxious self-consciousness — like having a visible sign of worry “on your head.” A tongue-in-cheek way to dramatize social embarrassment or creeping anxiety. It’s a comic metaphor... imagine someone sitting in a room wearing a big sombrero — conspicuous, out of place, calling attention to himself. The “uneasiness” is similarly visible and impossible to hide. | ||
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| + | ==Page 65== | ||
| + | '''swift-finger once-over'''<br /> | ||
| + | a quick, practiced frisk or search, usually by a crook, cop, or pickpocket. | ||
Revision as of 14:46, 6 October 2025
Page 62
gemütlich state of mind
German: cheerful, upbeat
Page 63
straw boxes few and far between
“straw boxes” referred to police call boxes or small sentry / kiosk stations that officers used while patrolling their beats.
wrong end of a roscoe
to be on the receiving end of a gun, i.e., having a pistol pointed at you. In American underworld slang from the 1910s–1940s, a “roscoe” meant a handgun, typically a revolver. It’s part of the same family of old gun slang: gat, rod, heater, equalizer, piece, cannon, gun.
Sombrero of Uneasiness
Comes from a 1930s American expression that was used humorously or metaphorically to describe a feeling of anxious self-consciousness — like having a visible sign of worry “on your head.” A tongue-in-cheek way to dramatize social embarrassment or creeping anxiety. It’s a comic metaphor... imagine someone sitting in a room wearing a big sombrero — conspicuous, out of place, calling attention to himself. The “uneasiness” is similarly visible and impossible to hide.
Page 65
swift-finger once-over
a quick, practiced frisk or search, usually by a crook, cop, or pickpocket.
