Green’s Dictionary of Slang

gum n.3

also guma, gummy stuff
[the stickiness of the drug]

(drugs) opium.

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[US]Sun (NY) 20 May 2/7: The opium smoker can ‘taper off’ on ‘yen-shee’ (residuum) and whiskey, and shake off the habit altogether, while the gum eater takes up the watery extract and makes headway backward.
McCook Wkly Trib. 23 Apr. 2/1: These women pay [...] 15 cents and are weighed out a certain amount of prepared opium, powdered or gum.
[[US]W.R. Cobbe Dr. Judas, A Portrayal of the Opium Habit 73: The eater of the poppy gum is afraid of his fellow man].
[US]L.J. Beck N.Y.’s Chinatown 144: The gum [...] is again boiled over a slow fire until the liquid becomes the consistency of molasses. This is known as No.1 opium.
[US]Bourbon News (Paris, KY) 7 Dec. 7/1: I heard Kingsley beg the Chink for a little of the gummy stuff.
[US]Wash. Post 3 July 3/1: The British Gover’ment’s [...] makin’ it a penal offence to grow the gum.
[UK]‘Sax Rohmer’ Dope 144: Except in the form of opiated cigarettes, she could rarely be induced to part with any of the precious gum.
[UK]E. Murphy Black Candle 112: The smoker requires a long steel yenkok [sic], or toasting pin, with which to hold the gum of chandu.
[US]D. Maurer ‘Argot of the Und. Narcotic Addict’ Pt 1 in AS XI:2 122/1: gum. Old-fashioned gum-opium which is dissolved and taken internally like laudanum.
[US]Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
[US]Anslinger & Tompkins Traffic In Narcotics 309: gum. Opium.
[US]J.E. Schmidt Narcotics Lingo and Lore.
[US]ONDCP Street Terms 11: Gum — Opium; Guma — Opium.

In phrases

SE, meaning rubber, in slang uses

In compounds

gumball (n.) (also gumball light, ...machine) [joc. equation of the shape] (US)

1. the flashing light on a police car.

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J.F. Runcie ‘Truck Drivers’ Jargon’ AS XLIV:3 205: gum-ball machine. see beanie light [i.e. Rotating warning light on top of an emergency vehicle].
[US]L. Dills CB Slanguage 49: Gumball Machine: emergency vehicle.
Rukuza W. Coast Turnaround 144: Audrey saw a police car...But wait...there were no gumballs on the roof [HDAS].
[US]R. Marcinko Rogue Warrior (1993) 354: It looked like a police convention [...] A dozen cars with gum-ball lights flashing.

2. a police car.

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[US] in DARE.
Donahue [NBC-TV] Did you see the gumball machine in your rear-view mirror? [HDAS].
gumboot (n.) [the SE gumboots that epitomize the speakers]

1. (N.Z.) rough, forthright, mainly rural language, i.e. that of fishermen, roustabouts etc.

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[UK]Listener (NZ) 15 May 70: Kiwi comedians only have to master Gumboot, the language of roustabouts, fishermen and sportscasters, and they’re away screaming [DNZE].

2. see gumshoe n. (1)

gumboot tea (n.)

(N.Z.) trad. Indian tea, rather than herbal or other ’exotic’ varieties.

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[NZ]McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 94: gumboot tea is ordinary common or garden tea, as opposed to herbal, for example.
gumdrop

see separate entries.

gum game (n.)

see separate entry.

gumheel (n.) (also gum-foot) [var. on gumshoe n. (1)]

(US prison) a police officer.

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[US]H. Yenne ‘Prison Lingo’ in AS II:6 280: They ‘hot-foots’ (hurry) it down the alley and ‘shakes the gum-foot’ (get away from the officer), goes over and ‘crashes the joint’ (break in) and ‘cops a heel’ (make a getaway).
[US]San Quentin Bulletin in L.A. Times 6 May 7: GUM HEEL, police officer.
[US]R. Chandler ‘The King in Yellow’ in Spanish Blood (1946) 50: You get out of my room, you damned gum-heel!
R. Starnes Another Mug For the Bier 156: I’ll be seeing you, gumheel.
[US]Goldin et al. DAUL 88/1: Gum-foot. (Obsolescent) A plain-clothes policeman or detective.
gumshoe

see separate entries.

gum-sucker (n.)

see separate entry.