Dead Men Kill Glossary

Stories from the Golden Age reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.

ballyhoo man: a person who gives an attention-getting demonstration or talk to arouse interest and attract patrons to an entertainment event.

barker: someone who stands in front of a show at a carnival and gives a loud colorful sales talk to potential customers.

bead on, drawing a: taking careful aim at. This term alludes to the bead, a small metal knob on a firearm used as a front sight.

blackjack: a short, leather-covered club, consisting of a heavy head on a flexible handle, used as a weapon.

bluecoats: policemen.

bullpen: a holding cell where prisoners are confined together temporarily; in the 1800s, jails and holding cells were nicknamed bullpens, in respect of many police officers’ bullish features—strength and short temper.

clubbed gun: a rifle, shotgun, etc., held by the barrel so as to use the stock as a club.

deuce, what the: what the devil; expressing surprise.

dick: a detective.

dint of, by: by means of.

flatfoot: a police officer; cop.

G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

gourde: a paper money and monetary unit of Haiti.

grifter: crooked game operator; a person who operates a sideshow at a circus, fair, etc., especially a gambling attraction.

ha’nt: a ghost.

hop: drugs, especially opium.

midway: an avenue or area at a carnival where the concessions for exhibitions of curiosities, games of chance, scenes from foreign life, merry-go-rounds, and other rides and amusements are located.

newshawk: a newspaper reporter, especially one who is energetic and aggressive.

papaloi: (Haitian dialect) voodoo priest.

property men: propmen; members of the crew in charge of stage properties.

proverbial straw: pertaining to the proverb (short popular saying): “A drowning man snatches at straws,” meaning a desperate person will try anything to save himself, no matter how unlikely.

rod: another name for a handgun.

rube: one of the local townspeople who make up a sideshow audience or become customers.

scareheads: headlines in exceptionally large type.

Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories.

spot: 1. to place or position on a particular place. 2. single out; pick out; identify.

swallowtails: the back part of a man’s fitted coat that descends in a pair of tapering skirts.

wee sma’s: wee small hours; the early hours of the morning, especially those just after midnight.

zombie: a reanimated human body devoid of consciousness; in voodoo, it is a dead person who has been revived by a voodoo priest, and remains under the control of the priest, since they have no will of their own.