|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
In reply to:
http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20050520.html
Has anyone ever heard 'shank' used in this sense?
Very, very often. At least here in NZ (probably courtesy of Old Blighty), it's a term used in connection with those who are guests of Her Majesty.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
enthusiast
|
|
enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273 |
Sharpened toothbrushes are popular shanks, apparently.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Very common usage, I think.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
"Shank" used to denote a home-made knife-like weapon has, for me, the feel of those prison movies made in black-and-white in the 1940s with Edward G. Robinson and people like him. I doubt if anybody in the jail beneath my courtroom uses that term anymore ... unless they are as old as I am and perhaps a fan of the gangster films of the forties.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
shank+prison: 37.9k googlits www shank+prison: <1k googlits uk sites only But yes, it's a commonly understood term in the UK. Some more prison slang for you: http://www.vinniejones.co.uk/film/meanslang.php
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
shank+prison
Guess I just been hanging with the wrong element.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
Just taking a stab here, but was that a cutting remark?
TEd
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
i am surprized that shive has come up in this discussion.
i know a shank is any item being used as weapon, but a toothbrush, handle, shapened into a knive is a shank that is also a shive.
a shive is a shank that has a cutting edge.
where as a lump of mashed potatoes, packed into a toe of sock and left to dry can be a mace like weapon, (a shank)
i think shive is more commonly used on TV crime drama's, but shank was more common in 1940'- and 50's crime movies.
i suspect a ball point pen cartridge, made into a handcuff key, while not technically a weapon, would also be a shank.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 500 |
where as a lump of mashed potatoes, packed into a toe of sock and left to dry can be a mace like weapon, (a shank)
..or a particularly heavy biscuit?
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
941
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
