Re: RARA-AVIS: Hardboiled slang - shamus

• To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
• Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Hardboiled slang - shamus
• From: Thompson <ehthomps@dux.dundee.ac.uk>
• Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 14:24:46 +0000 (GMT)
• cc: "INTERNET:rara-avis@icomm.ca" <rara-avis@icomm.ca>
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• In-Reply-To: <199701111032_MC1-E6B-54BF@compuserve.com>
• Reply-To: rara-avis@icomm.ca
• Sender: owner-rara-avis@icomm.ca

> There may be a connection here with the Irish immigrant community, as the
> term closely resembles 'seamus', an Irish (male) name.
> There maybe a forgotten connection with an investigator of some sort with
> the name Seamus (the only irish-american I can recall, off the top of my
> head, is Chief O'Hara <g>)  Can anyone on the list shed any light here?

There's some discussion of this in Rosten's 'Joy of Yiddish' - I think he 
links 'shamus' with (off the top of my head) the Yiddish 'shammes'.

Ed

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X  Ed Thompson  Director, American Studies Programme  X
X     The University,  Dundee  DD1 4HN,  Scotland     X
X  tel. 01382-344381  email ehthomps@dux.dundee.ac.uk X
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• RARA-AVIS: Shamus
• • From: Katherine Ann Harper <kharper@BGNet.bgsu.edu>

• RARA-AVIS: Hardboiled slang, and Chicago overcoats
• • From: E J M Duggan <106156.565@compuserve.com>

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