Slang from Storm Waters, Part 4

Posted on by kat_richardson

Broderick: 

A term that has vanished completely, although I doubt the activity has. In period crime fiction of the 1920s through 1940s, “the Broderick” shows up with fair frequency. I guess the closest terms today would be “tune up,” or “work over” even though those are also a bit dated, now. If you can suggest another current term, please leave a comment.

Broderick (the): (n) severe, usually methodical, beating. Derived from real life NYPD detective John Broderick, notoriously violent head of the Gangster Squad, which was established during Prohibition. Usage as in: “Give ‘im the Broderick, boys. And don’t hold back.”

Having now weathered the US election, I’m hoping that no one is feeling that giving anyone the Broderick is a good idea.

gray-scale Venn diagram shaped like a flower showing the intersections of linguistic and cultural origin and influences that create slang—shown as a black dot in the center, like the center of a flower with the influences radiation out and overlapping like the petals.

 

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