gold brick.
1. A bar of gilded cheap metal that appears to be genuine gold. 2. A fraudulent, worthless substitute.
—The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1992.
Goldbrick, n.
One who goldbricks.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Goldbrick, v.
To malinger; to use any expedient, as feigning illness, to avoid work or obtain narcotics.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
a white space
“It seems to me that the average punctuation mark, if it’s being used correctly, becomes invisible to the reading mind. You’re not meant to interpret a comma; you’re barely even meant to notice it. (There are stories that deliberately call attention to the punctuation marks they use, of course, but they’re anomalies, and I would hazard that most of them fail to achieve anything important by the practice.)
On the other hand, a white space, perhaps because it is absent of information, presents itself as something to be understood. Many readers might fail to accept such an invitation, simply hurrying on to the next block of sentences, but I do think the request is implicit every time you encounter one. What a white space most frequently suggests is that some significant current of the narrative is coming to a stop and a new one is beginning. A practiced reader will approach it with that expectation in mind.”
—Kevin Brockmeier, from an interview entitled Kevin Brockmeier on White Space at The Reader of Absurdist Books, posted April 06, 2006. Ran into this by way of Bookslut.
Big-eyes.
(Chiefly rural) A plainclothesman or detective.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Black Maria, the.
Enclosed van for conveying prisoners to and from jails.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blackstone.
(Rare) A judge. “That blackstone must have figured you was a cat hitting you with triple life (three consecutive life terms).”
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Black top.
A tent used for gambling by carnival emplyees. “A couple of strange weeds (strangers) just heisted (held up) the black top.”
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blue.
(Carnival; antonym of red) Poor paying; not prosperous—applied to a carnival crowd of spectators.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.
Blue room.
1. The back room in a police station where suspects are examined by proper or, frequently, by third degree methods. 2. (Prison) The solitary confinement chamber in which excessively harsh punishments are inflicted.
—Dictionary of American Underworld Lingo, Hyman E. Goldin, Editor in Chief, 1950.