gunsel

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Noun 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Noun 1.3.1.1 Usage notes

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /'gʌnsəl/

[edit] Etymology 1

Yiddish gendzel or ganzel.

[edit] Noun

gunsel (plural gunsels)

1. Young man kept for sexual purposes
2. Street and prison slang for a passive-partner in anal-intercourse

[edit] Etymology 2

From gunslinger by shortening.

[edit] Noun

gunsel (plural gunsels)

1. A gun-carrying hoodlum or other criminal
2. A small man carrying a large gun.
3. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) A railway (or tramway etc) enthusiast

[edit] Usage notes

Note: The two meanings are believed to have originated concurrently but independently. gunsel: Or: gonsil / gonzel / gonsel : A 19th century term of German and Yiddish (little goose) derivation for a young, inexperienced gay male similar to the more recent gay slang term, "twink". See sodomite for synonyms.

The latter usage — a gun-toting hoodlum — derives from Dashiel Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon". Hammett's publisher at the time refused to allow any rude or profane terminology in his publication. Hammett slipped in "gunsel" — a street term for a young, gay man — as a joke. Since it is used throughout the book to refer to the character of Wilmer — a gun-toting thug — most people erroneously assumed that is what it meant and it stuck.