I'm looking for a word that would to non-military (not non-law enforcement). It is to be spoken by a Chandleresque private eye to a police detective. The PI is speaking of civilians in contrast to a bunch Marines who were killed earlier in the yarn.

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Jackie: "schmuck" might or might not be offensive. It is most commonly used to mean 'jerk' or 'idiot' (which, I suppose, might also be offensive). Literally, it means 'penis,' and I think it must come from the German, 'Schmuck' (rhymes with 'hook') meaning 'jewelry,' so that it seems to be intended to be humorous in the demeaning humor of my tribe (Ashkenazi Jewery).

There is a joke about a guy who frequently visits New York and gets tired of long waits when he asks for his black Cadillac (dating the joke) from the garage. So, he decides to buy a camel. One day, he goes to the garage and asks for his camel and the attendant returns and tells him the camel has been stolen. When the police ask him whether the camel was male or female, the man replies that he's not sure, but he thinks it must be male. "Why do you think that?" say the police. "Because," says the man, "one day I was riding it down Fifth Avenue and somebody yelled, 'Hey, take a look at the schmuck on that camel."