C-note – a hundred dollar bill
Cabbage – money, cash
Cathouse – a brothel, a house of prostitution
Chicago typewriter – a Thompson submachine gun widely used by prohibition era gangsters, also “gat” or “Tommy gun”
Coming heavy – carrying guns openly, usually Tommy guns, rifles, or larger caliber pistols difficult to conceal.
Connected – a mafia insider, someone working for and protected by the mafia, or someplace owned and operated by the mafia
Convincer - a gun, usually a pistol, also “heater”, “rod”, or “roscoe”
Cookie – a term of endearment, or alternately a catcall toward a female, also “toots”
Copper – a police officer, usually a uniformed officer, sometimes shortened to “cop”
Cotton Club – a nightclub owned by gangster and bootlegger Owney Madden. It was a “whites only” club, but featured all-black entertainment including such famous stars as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lena Horne, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Crackers – crazy, insane, not exercising good judgment, acting in a peculiar or unusual manner not in keeping with one’s normal demeanor
Creep – an unsavory person, generally one with inappropriate social mannerisms
Cup of joe – cup of coffee, java
Dago - a disparaging slang term for someone of Italian descent, also “Goombah”, “Wop”, “Guinea” or “Guido”
Dame – a woman, a female
Dick – detective, derived from the fictional Dick Tracy. Most commonly used as “private dick”, indicating someone holding a private investigator’s license
Dish – a very attractive female, same as “doll”, “looker” or “tomato”
Dizzy with a dame – crazy about a woman, madly in love with a particular female
Doll – a very attractive female, same as “dish”, “looker” or “tomato”
Donnybrook - an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; a brawl; a free-for-all fight
Double dip – to get paid twice for the same job, usually by two different people interested in paying for the same result, analogous to a “double dip” or two scoops of ice cream on a single cone
Drilled – shot with a gun, often multiple times with an semi-automatic pistol or machine gun
Dutch – in trouble, also “in dutch”
Fairy – slang term for a male homosexual
Family business – code for mafia-related activities, specifically as it involved the five mafia families in New York
Fill full of sunlight – shoot someone repeatedly with a gun; also “fill full of holes”, riddle with bullets
Fin – a five-dollar bill
Finger – to point the “finger of blame” at, to accuse, to identify as a suspect or perpetrator of a crime
Fish – a lie, also “fishy”, meaning something untrue or deceptive
Five-finger-discount – to steal something
Flapping gums – making small talk or idle chatter
Flatfoot – a policeman, usually a beat cop, but sometimes can refer to a private detective
Flophouse – a rooming house where beds were rented out on a daily basis for extremely low rates. During the Great Depression, these were common in neighborhoods where homeless and jobless people gathered. Nightly rates for a bed could be as low as 20 cents
Foxy – sly or deceptive, tricky
Gams – legs, particularly legs visible below a dress or skirt on a female
Gat - a gun, sometimes a pistol but generally used of a Thompson submachine gun, also “Chicago typewriter” or “Tommy gun”, derived from the name of the Civil War “Gatling gun”
Get the business – to be badly beaten or killed, specifically in a mob-style hit
Get while the getting is good – to make a getaway while there is a chance, to escape before being arrested
Gig – a job, usually used concerning entertainers
Good egg – someone who is pleasant, agreeable or trustworthy
Goombah - a disparaging slang term for someone of Italian descent, also “Guido”, “Wop”, “Guinea” or “Dago”
Goon – gangster, mobster, ruffian
Guido – a disparaging slang term for someone of Italian descent, also “Goombah”, “Wop”, “Guinea” or “Dago”
Guinea - a disparaging slang term for someone of Italian descent, also “Goombah”, “Wop”, “Guido” or “Dago”
Gumshoe – detective, usually private, same as “shamus”
Gunsel – gunman with a tendency toward being a reckless loose cannon, alternately (rare) an insult meaning a young homosexual
Hatchet-man – hired killer, assassin, also “button-man” or “trigger-man”
Hat trick – a sports term denoting anything done in a series of three. While this didn’t become popular in America until the 1940’s with hockey, meaning to score three goals in one game, it was originally used in 1858 in regards to a cricket match, and was widely used in Europe. Nick’s time in England and France during the war was where he picked up the phrase, and it is one of the quirks of his vernacular
Heater – a gun, usually a pistol, also “convincer”, “rod”, or “roscoe”
Heist - a robbery
Hooch – alcohol, specifically illegally made alcohol during prohibition
Hood – or “hoodlum”, a petty gangster, generally a tough working for someone higher up in a gang or criminal organization, a petty thug
Horn – a telephone, also “blower”
House sneak – a house detective, generally in a hotel but could be in a department store, a plainclothes private security officer, also “house dick”
Jacket – a file, particularly a legal file kept by the district attorney’s office or the police department containing the criminal record of a particular individual
Jake – okay, all right, everything is well
Jalopy – car, automobile
Java – coffee, also “cup of joe”
Jitters – an attack of nervousness
Joint – a place of business, generally a club or bar but could be a hotel or any other location where people gather
Keen – good, excellent, also “swell”
Kike – a disparaging slang term for someone of Jewish descent
Kiss-off – a rude goodbye, to end a conversation or meeting abruptly
Kraut – a derogatory term for “German”, particularly used by war veterans of WWI and WWII
Lead poisoning – to be shot with a gun, generally multiple times and fatally
Legal eagle – a slang term for a lawyer, generally mildly derogatory
Lifter - a thief or pickpocket, also “sticky-fingers”
Mata Hari - a sly and deceptive woman who used her sensuality to gain the trust of men in order to deceive them. This was taken from the real life spy of the same name who was caught, convicted and executed for spying for the Germans during WWI.
Mick – a disparaging slang term for someone from Ireland or of Irish descent
Minsky’s - or “Minsky's Burlesque” refers to the brand of American burlesque presented by the four Minsky brothers between 1912 and 1937 in New York. This brand of burlesque pushed the limits of decency and were the cutting edge beginning of later strip clubs in America
Mobster – a criminal member of organized crime, specifically the mafia families
Moll – a gangster’s girlfriend
Mook – a contemptible person, generally not too bright, a derogatory term similar to “idiot”
Mug - face
Near Beer – a lower-alcohol content ale served at a famous New York pub called McSorley’s. Despite it being illegal, McSorley’s kept serving this alcohol throughout prohibition
Nicked – arrested, also “pinched
”
No dice – an unsuccessful result
Nosy Nell – a neighbor that is an extreme busybody, always watching and obsessed with knowing his/her neighbors’ business
Number 1 Beer – a bootleg beer produced by gangster, bootlegger and club owner Owney Madden and sold at his night clubs throughout prohibition, including the famous Cotton Club
Packing heat – carrying a gun, also “strapped” or “walking heavy”
Panhandling – begging for money on the streets
Paper hounds – file clerks, office workers in charge of paperwork and filing, also “paper jockeys”
Paper jockeys – file clerks, office workers in charge of paperwork and filing, also “paper hounds” or “paper monkeys”
Peepers - eyes
Pendejo – Spanish for “fool” or “idiot”, a stupid person
Pinched – arrested, also “nicked”
Pizzazz – style, energy, the ability to attract attention, generally used to describe a person or a place
Plug – to shoot with a gun
Private dick – someone holding a private investigator’s license
Prohibition – the time period during which the 18th amendment banning the manufacture or sale of alcohol was in effect, i.e. from January 16, 1919 until December 5th, 1933, although a partial relaxation of the act permitting beer and wine sales with an alcohol content of less than 3.2% was passed in March of 1933
Rod - a gun, usually a pistol, also “convincer”, “heater”, or “roscoe”
Roscoe - a gun, usually a pistol, also “convincer, “heater”, or “rod”
Rowhouse – townhouses, a row of houses sharing walls with the neighboring homes in the row
Rub – or “the rub”, a problem in a particular situation, usually an element which complicates or negates the general state of something
Sawbuck – a ten-dollar bill
Schmooze – to suck up to, smooth-talk in an effort to curry favor
Scratch – money, cash
Shamus – detective, usually private, same as “gumshoe”
Skid-row – a street where the lowest income residents gather, alternately meaning being out of a job and homeless as in “on skid-row”
Skinny – information, particularly the truth about a specific person or incident
Skirt – a woman, a female
Snagged – arrested, alternately sometimes used to mean kidnapped
Snarky – testy or irritable
Sparkles – jewelry on a female
Speak-easy – an establishment serving illegal alcohol during prohibition, an underground, private drinking club
Spic – a disparaging ethnic slur for a person of Spanish, Mexican, or Hispanic descent
Squid – a Navy sailor
Sticky-fingers – a thief or pickpocket, also “lifter”
Stoolie – an informant, particularly one working undercover either providing the police information about criminal organizations or vice versa
Straight arrow – an honest person, someone who never bends the rules
Strapped – carrying a gun, also “packing heat” or “walking heavy”
Swell – good, excellent, also “keen”
Tickled pink – greatly pleased about something
Togs – can mean an overcoat, if used in the singular, “tog”, but when used in the plural it is a generic term for a set of clothes
Tomato – a very attractive female, same as “dish”, “doll” or “looker”
Tommy gun - a Thompson submachine gun widely used by prohibition era gangsters, also “gat” or “Tommy gun”
Toots - a term of endearment, or alternately a catcall toward a female, also “cookie”
Trap – mouth, as in “shut your trap” meaning shut up, or “pop your trap” meaning to speak
Trigger-man - hired killer, assassin, also “button-man” or “hatchet-man”
Walking heavy – carrying a gun, also “strapped” or “packing heat”
West Pointer – a military cadet attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, alternately a West Point graduate
Wop - a disparaging slang term for someone of Italian descent, also “Goombah”, “Guido”, “Guinea” or “Dago”
Afterword
Before I begin with the usual content of the Afterword in my books, i.e. my personal testimony and some things to help others understand the worldview behind the writer, I would like to take a moment with this novel to talk about the protagonist and Catholicism. Many may disagree with my choice of making the detective in my novel a Catholic. Still more may have some deep misunderstandings about Catholicism and what Catholics believe and teach vs. Protestantism. I hope to briefly clear this up and alleviate any concerns about my choices.
First and foremost, this is a novel of historical fiction. While it is of course a noir novel and a mystery, I would do a great disservice to my readers if I neglected to spend the same amount of time researching and painting a historically accurate setting for the story as I do in worldbuilding my fantasy or science fiction settings. New York City in the 1930’s was as brilliantly complex place as one could imagine. Dystopian writers would be hard-pressed to imagine anything as dark and convoluted as the reality of the Big Apple at the end of prohibition and the middle of the Great Depression.
To be Irish in 1930s New York was to be Catholic. As soon as I determined to make my protagonist Irish, set in a firmly Irish family, there really was no other choice. Half of my own family is from Irish Catholic roots, and while today I am an ordained Baptist minister, I grew up staunchly Catholic. I probably spent as much time with the priests at the rectory as I did at home. And before anyone jumps to any stereotypical conclusions, it was a wonderful time where absolutely nothing untoward happened at all. Father Conrad Kimbrough was like a grandfather to me, and his jovial manner blended with his wisdom and Bible knowledge were just a joy to be around. There were several of us altar boys who used to just go on Sunday after mass and hang out at the rectory, soaking up Father Kimbrough’s wisdom. I honestly felt I could have talked to him about anything in the world, and so much of my actual Bible knowledge was poured into my in those early years of dinners and discussions with one of the most wise and wonderful people God ever put on this earth.
I am often disturbed and angered when I hear Protestant preachers going on about “what Catholics believe” because I know firsthand there is much misinformation presented. Things are taken out of context, or taken out of practice or publication from local, less-informed people rather than what the official stand of the Catholic Church is. Now don’t get me wrong, I know there are some points of deep disagreement, but at the heart of it, most Catholics I know have a clear understanding that their salvation comes from Jesus Christ alone. The manner in which they worship, and the way they understand the “means of grace”, i.e. how God relates to His children, differ greatly. Honestly, though, I think if you looked at the hyper-charismatic Protestant churches and compared them to the conservative end of evangelicalism, you would find as many or more differences between the ends of the Protestant spectrum than you would find between mainstream Protestantism and true Catholicism.
Readers of my other works might also notice that the “Christian content” in this book is much lighter than in my other works. There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost, not every idea lends itself to the ability to smoothly blend truth, as seen from the perspective of a Christian worldview, with the immediate story at hand. Chadash Chronicles was built around an idea of God being very real and integral to the stories themselves. Additionally, a few of the characters gave easy and natural “voice” to the worldview through their interactions with others. By using characters acting as those characters naturally act, there is a smooth blending of the Christian content with the overall story, thus giving it a natural feel.
This is critical to a story. I love and encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ who also write Christian fic
tion, but unfortunately so much of what makes up the available body of “Christian fiction” is done in such a heavy-handed way, that no one who is not already a Christian can bear to read it. So many of these works are basically thinly-veiled sermons wrapped in the trappings of a story. I am not a fan of that approach. It alienates the part of the audience who might benefit most from exposure to a better understanding of the Christian worldview. It also sets up a false paradigm; namely that all Christian fiction is “preachy” and over the top. This in turn makes it all the more difficult for authors better at blending worldview into our stories to earn the trust of non-Christian readers.
I have endeavored with my works to introduce elements of my worldview only when they are germane to the story or to the character at hand. Gideon, the holy knight character in the Chadash Chronicles books, gives me an easy, natural voice to use speaking truth into his companions as the situation calls for it. It is not preachy or heavy-handed, it is just Gideon. This brings us to Nick O’Brien.
Like many Catholics (and Protestants for that matter), Nick is nominally religious. He believes in God, goes to church, prays, but he also does what so many Christians do. He compartmentalizes. Nick is still struggling to find his identity relating to God. His parents were killed when he was in his teens, and he faked his documents, went overseas, and was fighting in a war before he was eighteen. After the war, he returned to work on the police force and had to watch as the country fell into greater corruption and eventually economic ruin. He can go to church and hear about the glory of a loving God, but life has shown him a very different picture. Nick doesn’t blame God, but he, like many of us, doesn’t always understand God either.
So having grown up in a family of largely nominal Catholics who were experts at compartmentalization, I have a plethora of experience to draw from in creating Nick’s particular spirituality. Keep in mind, just because I have written a realistic character this way does not mean I am advocating or endorsing this type of compartmentalized spirituality among Christians. Quite the opposite. I believe we understand God so much better when we open all the doors and let Him into every part of our life. But in reality, most people either don’t know how to do that, or have chosen to keep some parts closed off from God.