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gunsel

noun
/ˈɡʌnsəl/

Etymology

By misunderstanding of the 1929 Maltese Falcon quotation above (1.1) (which survived in a popular 1941 film adaptation). The novel was originally serialized in a magazine, Black Mask, whose editor refused to allow vulgarities. Hammett used the word gunsel knowing that the editor would likely misunderstand it as relating to gun, and therefore allow it.

  1. derived from gensel
  2. derived from גענדזל — “gosling”

Definitions

  1. Synonym of catamite

    Synonym of catamite: a young man kept by an elder as a (usually passive) homosexual partner.

    • The boy’s eyes […] ran over Spade’s body from shoulders to knees […] “Another thing,” Spade repeated, glaring at the boy: “Keep that gunsel away from me while you’re making up your mind. I’ll kill him […] ”

  2. Synonym of bottom

    Synonym of bottom: a passive partner in a male homosexual relationship.

  3. Synonym of bitch

    Synonym of bitch: a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. A gun-carrying hoodlum or other criminal.

      • There's somebody comin. I think it's that gunsel.
      • The two gunsels waited for him on each side of the doorway, gun-hands bulging in their coat pockets.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for gunsel. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA