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  • Michael Chabon's coinage

    April 22, 2009

  • Not strictly speaking Michael Chabon's coinage, sholem is a Yiddish variant spelling of the word shalom, most commonly translated into English as peace (though any rabbi will tell you it has a deeper meaning). Chabon, meanwhile, is probably the first to use it as a slang word for a gun (in his novel, The Yiddish Policeman's Union).

    December 28, 2010

  • According to a "Rocky Mountain Jew" webpage, he deliberately intended the punning between the source Yiddish word "shalom" which (roughly) means "peace" and the English use of "piece" as slang for a gun. Not sure if that justifies adding a definition, but if so, then I can't find any way to do that...

    January 7, 2015