church keyn. a beer can opener. Where
is the church key when I need it? I have
a church key in my glove compartment.
churntv. [for a stockbroker] to cause a
heavy turnover in the portfolio of an in-
vestor. (The broker collects commissions
on each transaction.) I reported my
broker for churning my account. They
churn accounts to earn the commissions.
ciao and chow[tSaU] Good-bye; Hello.
(Italian.) See ya. Ciao. Chow, baby.
Call my service.
cid and sid[sId] n. the hallucinogenic drug
LSD. (Drugs. From acid. Sid can be cap-
italized.) Where can I go to drop a lit-
tle cid? Bruno can tell you where Sid is
these days. You know where I can rap
with Sid?
cig[sIg] n. a cigarette; a cigar. Barlowe
fumbled for a cig and thought better of it.
Toss me my pack of cigs, will ya?
cigarette with no name and no brand
cigarette; no name cigaretten. a mar-
ijuana cigarette. (Drugs.) You got one
of them cigarettes with no name? He
spends his whole life burning those no
name cigarettes.
ciggy and ciggie[“sIgi] n. a cigarette.
How ’bout a ciggy before we take off?
Where is my pack of ciggies?
cinch[sIntS] 1. n. something very easy.
No sweat! It was a cinch! What a cinch.
Anybody can do it. 2. tv. to have some-
thing settled and secured. He cinched
it with a simple signature and date. It
only took a handshake to cinch the deal.
cinched[sIntSt] mod. settled; secured;
sealed (up). (As one tightens the saddle
girth on a horse.) I’ve got it cinched! No
sweat! This is a cinched deal—a done
deal. No one can stop it from going
through.
circle-jerk 1. n. a gathering of males per-
forming mutual masturbation. (Partly
jocular. Usually objectionable.) There
were twelve boys involved in a circle-jerk,
and the principal caught them. 2. n. a bor-
ing or time-wasting meeting. (From
sense 1.) That board meeting was the
typical circle-jerk that it always is.
circle (the drain)tv. & in. to be in the fi-
nal process of dying; to be in extremis.
(Jocular but crude hospital jargon.)
Get Mrs. Smith’s son on the phone. She’s
circling the drain.
circular filen. a wastebasket. (See also file
thirteen.) That letter went straight into
the circular file. Most of the junk mail
sits here until I can put it into the circular
file.
civil serpentn. a civil servant. You have
no idea the kinds of things civil serpents
have to put up with. I’m a civil serpent
with the state.
civvies[“sIviz] n. civilian clothes rather
than a uniform. (Originally military.)
I feel sort of funny in civvies. I re-upped
because I couldn’t stand the thought of
civvies and stuff like that.
clam 1. n. a dollar. (Underworld.) Forty
clams for a sweater that doesn’t even have
arms! You got a couple of clams I can
bum for a little bottle? 2. n. a tight-lipped
person. Suddenly, she became a clam
and wouldn’t talk anymore. Rocko’s a
clam. He won’t say a word.
clam upin. to get quiet. (See also dummy
up.) The minute they got him inside the
cop-shop, he clammed up. You’ll clam
up if you know what’s good for you.
clankedmod. exhausted; pooped. At the
end of the race, the chick was totally
clanked. I’m really clanked, man. Gotta
take a rest.
clanksn. the delirium tremens. He’s suf-
fering with the clanks again. Who’s the
old buzzard shaking with the clanks?
clapn. a case of gonorrhea. (Very old and
still in use.) He thinks he got the clap
from her.
claptrapn. nonsense; something worthless.
This is enough claptrap. I’m leaving.
I know claptrap when I see it, and your
play was claptrap.
class 1. n. high style; elegance. The
dame’s got class, but no brains. Classchurch key