"ROSCOE" ?

BIGDOC

BIGDOC

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Hey everyone, I was reading some threads and I saw the term "ROSCOE" used and was wandering where it originated. I remember it used in the movie PAYBACK with Mel Gibson. I was reading about magnums/revolvers...
 

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Here, it probably originated with me in an older post.

I was just repeating what I heard as a kid.

Kind of eloquent if you think about it. :)
 
I read Damon Runyon, many years ago, and can't say that I remember one way or another. But weren't there some space chimps, Roscoe and Bosco? Of course, they would have come along too late to be the source.
 
Once upon a time there were very cheap , very low quality revolvers mfg in Europe , and imported to US . Some of them were imported by the Ross Company , and were marked "Ross Co" . Say it quicky , and sounds like "Roscoe".

Became slang for small and/ or cheap handgun, to lesser extent any handgun.
 
It was a rainy night in da Big City. I pulled on my battered London Fog, flipped da fedora to my brain cage and shoved my roscoe in an outer pocket. I t'ot ‘bout da heater but it didn’t carry ‘nuff people penetrators and I needed to do some serious lead poisonin’.

Just then my posy sashayed in on those glamourous gams.
“Show me da hardware,” I told her. She smiled. You know what kind of smile it was. She slid a hand slowly down da side of her skirt to da flounce, lifted it with a long, cool finger.

Heh. Garter rig, da shooter hanging from a button. Cool kid, dat broad. Favoured a rod over a shiv. Liked the smoke, she said. Liked the 'boom'. And the flame. Heh. Me too. Nuttin’ like da look on a mug’s face when he tinks it’s gonna fry ‘im, too.

Dats how it is in da Big City. You gotta problem wit dat, ya lugs?
 
Biggfoot44 said:
Once upon a time there were very cheap , very low quality revolvers mfg in Europe , and imported to US . Some of them were imported by the Ross Company , and were marked "Ross Co" . Say it quicky , and sounds like "Roscoe".

Became slang for small and/ or cheap handgun, to lesser extent any handgun.
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O.k. but Mel Gibson was handling a .44 in the movie, not a great movie but was fun to watch.
 

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It's a fantastic cult film.

Double printed color over B&W for effect.

One of my favorites.

If you're looking for Shakespeare, forgettaboutit, but if you take it for what it is, delightful.

Kind of like The Princess Bride. Yeah... like that...
 
The original Rosco?

6864314161918outwestroscoe_zpsvud7wfxq.jpg
 
"Payback" is a remake of the 1967 film "Point Blank" staring the great Lee Marvin.

It's based on the book "The Hunter" by Richard Stark, aka, Donald Westlake.

It's the first of a pretty good series of Parker novels. The Reacher novels are a descendant of Parker, although Parker is out to score rather help people.

Westlake also penned the great Dortmunder series about the hapless, inept burglar John Dortmunder and his crew of regulars.

Both series of books are well worth finding. Porter for the blood and guts, Dortmunder for the humor.
 
Don't forget, Roscoe used to be a semi-common first name. And occasionally gun guys who knew better would refer to their pistol as a Roscoe in a joking or ironic manner.
 
The earliest reference that I remember was the movie "Detective Story" with Kirk Douglas and William Bendix, based on the 1949 play of the same name.
_______________________
Boxers or briefs? At my age, Depends.
 
Harkrader said:
It was a rainy night in da Big City. I pulled on my battered London Fog, flipped da fedora to my brain cage and shoved my roscoe in an outer pocket. I t'ot ‘bout da heater but it didn’t carry ‘nuff people penetrators and I needed to do some serious lead poisonin’.

Just then my posy sashayed in on those glamourous gams.
“Show me da hardware,” I told her. She smiled. You know what kind of smile it was. She slid a hand slowly down da side of her skirt to da flounce, lifted it with a long, cool finger.

Heh. Garter rig, da shooter hanging from a button. Cool kid, dat broad. Favoured a rod over a shiv. Liked the smoke, she said. Liked the 'boom'. And the flame. Heh. Me too. Nuttin’ like da look on a mug’s face when he tinks it’s gonna fry ‘im, too.

Dats how it is in da Big City. You gotta problem wit dat, ya lugs?
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What a dame, a broad I tell ya!

 
Its an old enough and out of date term so that young people never heard of it. A few months ago I met a young woman who had named her baby boy "Roscoe" and I jokingly said "that kid is a real pistol". She was puzzled by the expression so I explained to her that "Roscoe" was a slang word for a pistol, and that my statement was making a pun with another slang expression. She was horrified to learn that the name she had chosen had any relationship to a gun, since she was deathly afraid of and hated all guns. I guess that's what you get for picking a name without doing your research.
 
Harkrader said:
It was a rainy night in da Big City. I pulled on my battered London Fog, flipped da fedora to my brain cage and shoved my roscoe in an outer pocket. I t'ot ‘bout da heater but it didn’t carry ‘nuff people penetrators and I needed to do some serious lead poisonin’.

Just then my posy sashayed in on those glamourous gams.
“Show me da hardware,” I told her. She smiled. You know what kind of smile it was. She slid a hand slowly down da side of her skirt to da flounce, lifted it with a long, cool finger.

Heh. Garter rig, da shooter hanging from a button. Cool kid, dat broad. Favoured a rod over a shiv. Liked the smoke, she said. Liked the 'boom'. And the flame. Heh. Me too. Nuttin’ like da look on a mug’s face when he tinks it’s gonna fry ‘im, too.

Dats how it is in da Big City. You gotta problem wit dat, ya lugs?
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She have a sister?
 
vito said:
Its an old enough and out of date term so that young people never heard of it. A few months ago I met a young woman who had named her baby boy "Roscoe" and I jokingly said "that kid is a real pistol". She was puzzled by the expression so I explained to her that "Roscoe" was a slang word for a pistol, and that my statement was making a pun with another slang expression. She was horrified to learn that the name she had chosen had any relationship to a gun, since she was deathly afraid of and hated all guns. I guess that's what you get for picking a name without doing your research.
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No...that's what you get for naming your kid Roscoe. I know of one who wanted to name her daughter Ariel after the Little Mermaid but somehow it wound up Areola. :rolleyes: Stick with something simple like Bob, Fred, Jane Susan....something like that
 
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vito said:
Its an old enough and out of date term so that young people never heard of it. A few months ago I met a young woman who had named her baby boy "Roscoe" and I jokingly said "that kid is a real pistol". She was puzzled by the expression so I explained to her that "Roscoe" was a slang word for a pistol, and that my statement was making a pun with another slang expression. She was horrified to learn that the name she had chosen had any relationship to a gun, since she was deathly afraid of and hated all guns. I guess that's what you get for picking a name without doing your research.
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I agree. In light of today's slang usage, I often wonder why anybody gets named "RICHARD" anymore. Apologies to any and all,...... and you too PETER.
 
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