silk n.
1. (US black) a white person; also as adj. [the supposed wearing of silk clothes by (rich) whites].
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Finish to the Adventures of Tom & Jerry (1889) 185: Hannah [illus. as black] laughing quite outright, said, ‘It’s all the same in the dark, massa Jack, an’t it? Me as good as silk lady?’. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Scene (1996) 61: A silk is a white person. | |
| ‘The Winds of Change’ in Clarke Harlem, USA (1971) 319: You been transformed, daddy-o; if you was a shade lighter, you could pass for a silk! | |
| Pimp 31: That sure is a fine ‘silk’ girl, huh? | |
| Airtight Willie and Me 37: [He] had slid into that booth beside a brunette silk girl. | |
| Lowspeak. |
2. (US) in fig. use, courage, integrity.
| Valley of the Moon (1914) 76: I’ve fought battles, good ones, frazzlin’ my silk away to beat the band before whisky-soaked, smokin’ audiences of rotten fight-fans. |
3. (US, mainly black) in pl., expensive clothing, poss. actually made of silk [SE early 16C–19C].
| Perrysburg Jrnl (Wood Co., OH) 22 May 2/2: Shed the apron, kid and I’ll show you the real silks [...] and doll-fixings from Paris. | |
| Really the Blues 48: It seemed that a case of stolen silks had turned up under the stairs of that building. | |
| Black Jargon in White America 79: silks n. 1. nylon socks. […] 2. attractive acetate handkerchiefs. | |
| (con. 1960s) Black Gangster (1991) 28: You’ll never see them wear anything but silks or sport clothes. | |
| Runnin’ Down Some Lines 110: Some terms that talk primarily about specific clothing items, such as vines (suits), sharks (sharkskin suits), silks (silk clothes), [...] and so on. | |
| Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.]. | |
| Widespread Panic 271: A kiddie korps sews Sir guy shirts and sicknik silks for L.A. gang goofballs. |
4. (US) an authority figure [the supposed wearing of silk clothes by (rich) whites].
| Close Pursuit (1988) 151: Did the silks on the Knapp commission ever ask about the rate for drug busts? |
5. see silk broad
In derivatives
(US) a silk top-hat.
| Tales of the Ex-Tanks 17: I got into it with a silker, studs and patent leathers. |
(US) silk women’s underwear.
| Last Exit to Brooklyn 194: [S]he was wearing nothing but a pair of womans lace panties. [. . . .] Harry took a gulp of his drink and touched her panties. Do you like my silks? | |
| In La-La Land We Trust (1999) 149: She gets candy all the goddam time from every asshole tryin’ to get into her silkies. |
In compounds
(US black) a white woman.
| , | | DAS. |
| Pinktoes (1989) 158: I’ve heard it said they [i.e. blacks] call them [i.e. white women] silks [...] in their er, ah, sweaty sessions. [Ibid.] 159: In Harlem white women are known as silks, due to the legend that their pubic hair feels silky to the skin. |
1. a thief who grabs the bonnets and hats from pedestrians.
| New Canting Dict. n.p.: silksnatchers a Set of Varlets, who snatch Hoods, Scarves, Handkerchiefs, or any thing they can come at. | |
| , , , | | Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725]. |
| , , | | Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue. |
| Lex. Balatronicum. | |
| Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue. |
2. (UK Und.) a thief who specializes in stealing cloaks by twitching them from the wearer’s back.
| Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 142: They take Cloaks likewise, and glory in having got such a Purchase at the Point of their Swords; for which Gallantry they are called Silk-Snatchers. |
see separate entry.
1. a woman who tours clothes shops and examines the goods but never buys.
| Spectator No. 1564 n.p.: Silkworm [...] was cant among the hackney fraternity for their best customers, women who ramble twice or thrice a week from shop to shop, to turn over all the goods in town without buying anything [F&H]. |
2. (US/UK Und.) a shoplifter who specializes in silk items or jewellery.
| Police! 348: ‘Silkworms’ are well-dressed women who visit jewellers’ shops, and under the cover of making a purchase [...] they spend a small sum and ‘palm’ as many articles as they conveniently can. | |
| Door of Dread 128: Doesn’t it strike yuh that ol’ stuff’s about as dead as the dropped pocketbook gag [...] It’s about even wit’ the ol’ silkworm scheme. | |
| Parole Chief 253: She was a booster from way back. A silkworm on the grift. | |
| Anatomy of Crime 194: Silkworm: Elegantly dressed woman who palms jewellery while examining it in a jeweller’s. |
In phrases
1. (US) to bail out of an aeroplane using a parachute.
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | West Australian (Perth) 13 Oct. 3/2: The passengers might well congratulate them selves that they were not forced to ‘hit the silk’ or, worse still, that they did not ‘prang’. | |
| ‘Sl. of the American Paratrooper’ in AS XXIII:3/4 319: hit the silk. To jump out of plane. | |
| Chicago Trib. 15 Nov. pt 3 12/1: First time Burson ‘hit the silk’ himelf was at a 1928 [...] air show. |
2. (orig. US) thus, to bail out of any situation.
| Semi-Tough 70: The best thing to do in gin was to hit the silk when you got ten or under. | |
| Paco’s Story (1987) 39: Off your ass and on your feet. Let’s hit the silk. |
see silk adj.
(US black) a male homosexual.
| Black Jargon in White America 77: pure silk n. a homosexual. |
(US black) dressed in the height of fashion.
| Urban Black Argot 145: Silked to the Bone i. to be exceptionally well-dressed [...] ii. an exceptionally well-dressed person. | |
| Runnin’ Down Some Lines 111: The ultimate in fine dress – particularly among males – is to get silked to the bone. The expression connotes not only the exceptionally well-dressed person, but a man who is so clean that he is wearing silk from his underclothes on out – ‘Silk underwear, silk tee-shirt, silk shirt, silk suit, silk nylons – you fiendishly down in yo’ silks! You be sayin’, “I’m the greatest, more expensive than everybody else!”.’. | |
| Straight Outta Compton 18: Flip [...] pointing to the threads he had on as if he was clean/fonky/mod/ragged/sharp/silked and tabbed to the bone. | |
| ‘Live Now’ 🎵 I’m dreaming of a time I was silked out at the peak of my career. |