Mark in Scranton, Pennsylvania, calls about a phrase he heard on an old detective show: drop a dime. It means “to inform on someone” or “tip off the police,” and comes from the practice of literally dropping a dime into a payphone to make a 10-cent...
In addition to being the name of a plastic toy from the 60’s, the term rat fink was once used specifically to mean a narc or stool pigeon. Today, it’s used generally to mean a despicable person. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
hold the check v. phr.— «At yesterday’s hearing, Rep. Delmar Burridge said he hopes a law change will give incentive for low-level members who don’t “hold the check” or “hold the cap”—street lingo he heard in his 35-year career in juvenile court in...
hold the cap v. phr.— «At yesterday’s hearing, Rep. Delmar Burridge said he hopes a law change will give incentive for low-level members who don’t “hold the check” or “hold the cap”—street lingo he heard in his 35-year career in juvenile court in...
poop butt n.— «The most severe threat to any adolescent drug user is the “snitch,” or the “loud mouth poop butt.” Anyone perceived as a potential informer will be isolated from the mainstream of adolescent drug use.» —“Recruitment Into Drug Use” by...
trick or treat n.— «The most intriguing role in the 66-minute film goes to the unseen informant who supposedly led the cops to the wrong address, where Mena was killed. The snitch offers insight into a practice called “trick or treat,” in which he...
