Quote:
Originally Posted by basil ransome-davies
Spondulicks? One of my very favorite words, John, along with hoosegow. I believe I first encountered it in a Leslie Charteris 'Saint' book, probably one that included his gun- & booze-crazy American sidekick Hoppy Uniatz. (Incidentally, my experience with the LR was comparable to yours – an age to get my first win, then a long winning streak. But this year, fuck-all.)
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The only time I ever saw this word in the USA was in the "Coin World" (coin collecting hobbyist newspaper) in the 1960's and 1970's; where a dealer would often write that he was pursuing "the eluisive spondulix". After several years, I found out from an old-time local dealer, that spondulicks (or the -x version) was originally slang for the 1860's Civil War fractional currency notes, which were 3 to 50 cent Federal currency issued because the public was hoarding all the low denimination silver coins. These old fractional notes are hardly rare, so the dealer in the paper was in pursuit of the elusive current cash.
Odd that it is still current in the UK, since the US fractional notes were redeemed ca. 1873. But Canada issued 50 cent fractionals from about 1900 thru the 1920s, so maybe "spondulicks" migrated up there?
"Hoosegow" is still current, though I like the local term "crowbar hotel" better.
By the way,
re. the political comp. on a different thread, is the word "gerrymander" used in the UK?