Re: [All] Origin of the word Gunzel

[davep <davep@quik.com>]

David McLoughlin wrote:
 
> Peter Cook wrote:

> > Hi all

> > If anyone knows, could you please enlighten me of the origin of the word
> > 'Gunzel'

> According to the FAQ Jargon File in misc.transport.urban-transit:

> GUNZEL - a transit, especially train fanatic. GUNZEL. According to Bob
> Merchant, editor of the Australian enthusiasts' journal "Trolley Wire,"
> the term was first used by Sydney Tramway Museum members in the early
> 1960s to describe certain  enthusiasts in the state of Victoria
> (Australia) who took their hobby a bit too seriously. The term comes
> from the film "The Maltese Falcon" in which Elisha Cook Jnr, played
> Wilmer, Sydney Greenstreet's twisted gun-slinger (gunsel in American
> gangster slang).

	....except.....
	I've an vintage 1930s dictionary of US Underworld & prison Slang.
	Despite ther resemblance, Gunzel is NOT given therein as
	equivalent to gunslinger.  (Tho i grant the screenplay of
	Maltese Falcon does not make it unambiguous....).  The dictionary
	gies a defintion (prison usage) as (to paraphrase) someone
	who is a bit too fond of his fellow man.

	The Gunsel/gunzel/gunslinger speculation is quite common.  Using
	movies as source material is a tad dicey.  Think of how
	it is used in the movie & the laternat defeinition fits the
	story line as well 'gunslinger'.

	Any relation between that usage and current Australian usage
	is beyond my ability to comment...

	best