Darabont/King: jimmies

Marius Hancu

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Dec 26, 2014, 8:15:19 PM12/26/14

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Hello,

---
[Prison. Hadley is the captain of the guards. He's shouting at prisoners
here:]

HADLEY
What are you jimmies starin' at?
Back to work, goddamn it!

Shawshank Redemption
Screenplay by Frank Darabont, based on a story by Stephen King
---

"jimmy": is this a known slang word for "prisoner"?

Or just a regular slang insult? (e.g., with a meaning of penis or condom?)

Thank you.
--
Marius Hancu

Horace LaBadie

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Dec 26, 2014, 11:23:30 PM12/26/14

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In article <m7l171$r8m$1...@speranza.aioe.org>,

A jimmy is a pry bar like a small crowbar, typically used by burglars.
One assumes that burglars were not respectable among the prison
population.

charles

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Dec 27, 2014, 4:00:40 AM12/27/14

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In article <hlabadie-2746CE...@nntp.aioe.org>, Horace LaBadie

That's a "jemmy".

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

R H Draney

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Dec 27, 2014, 5:15:02 AM12/27/14

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charles filted:

"Jimmies" are chocolate or rainbow sprinkles used as toppings for frozen
yogurt...what's a frappe?

....r

--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

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Dec 27, 2014, 6:45:17 AM12/27/14

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Also pronounced and accordingly spelled "jimmy".

OED:

jimmy, n.1 and v.
Etymology: Dialect and colloquial pronunciation of jemmy n.

A. n.1
= jemmy n., occurring in most of the senses of that word, and in
numerous other slang, dialectal, and local uses, for which see
Dictionaries and Glossaries dealing with such uses.
** Now the more usual form in the U.S.

1848 G. W. M. Reynolds Myst. London IV. cxcv. 369/1, I have got
my own clasp-knife..and a small jimmey.
1854 Alta California (San Francisco) 23 Feb. 2/2, Officer
Powers,..upon examining the lock, found it had been broken open
with a ‘jimmy’.
1904...
1973 ‘E. McBain’ Let's hear It xiii. 194 The patrolman..was
examining a door and jamb for jimmy marks.
....
1973 P. B. Austin tr. M. Sjöwall & P. Wahlöö Locked Room xxiii.
186 [He] had brought with him every thinkable jimmy and other
tool for opening the door.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

CDB

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Dec 27, 2014, 7:55:24 AM12/27/14

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On 27/12/2014 3:52 AM, charles wrote:
> Horace LaBadie <hlab...@nospam.com> wrote:

>> Marius Hancu <marius...@gmail.com> wrote:

>>> --- [Prison. Hadley is the captain of the guards. He's shouting
>>> at prisoners here:]

>>> HADLEY: What are you jimmies starin' at? Back to work, goddamn
>>> it!

>>> Shawshank Redemption Screenplay by Frank Darabont, based on a
>>> story by Stephen King ---

>>> "jimmy": is this a known slang word for "prisoner"?

>>> Or just a regular slang insult? (e.g., with a meaning of penis
>>> or condom?)

>> A jimmy is a pry bar like a small crowbar, typically used by
>> burglars. One assumes that burglars were not respectable among the
>> prison population.

> That's a "jemmy".

Not in North America.

I considered the possibility of an oblique allusion to "pry", but
decided "condom" was more likely in context. Dickheads, like.

Peter T. Daniels

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Dec 27, 2014, 9:23:49 AM12/27/14

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On Friday, December 26, 2014 11:23:30 PM UTC-5, Horace LaBadie wrote:

> A jimmy is a pry bar like a small crowbar, typically used by burglars.
> One assumes that burglars were not respectable among the prison
> population.

I know it as a verb but not a noun -- you jimmy something open with a crowbar. (You don't have to be a burglar. You can do it to a stuck drawer
or window.)

Jerry Friedman

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Dec 27, 2014, 10:11:01 AM12/27/14

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Possibly short for "jimmy legs", uncontrolled leg movements in bed,
but a Heinlein character uses it as an insult.

--
Jerry Friedman