Gun moll
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A gun moll was the female companion of an American gangster of the 1920s and 30s. Gun is an obsolete English slang word [1], deriving from "ganef" [2], itself a Yiddsh borrowing meaning "thief". Moll, from Molly a diminutive of Mary, was a euphemism for whore or prostitute. These women for the most part were unremarkable except for their association with some of the most notorious killers of the times and organized crime mobsters. . The word "gun moll" can also mean a female companion of a robber or terrorist, and not only just a gangster. Bonnie Parker and Blanche Barrow were notable because of their active participation in the criminal activities of the Barrow Gang.
Gunmoll is also a punk band from Gainsville, Florida. They released two albums on No Idea Records in the early 2000s.
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[edit] Prominent Gun molls
- Beulah Baird - Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd
- Jean Delaney - Tommy Carroll
- Evelyn "Billie" Frechette - John Dillinger
- Mary Kinder - Harry Pierpont
- Kathryn Thorne - George "Machine Gun" Kelly Barnes
- Opal "Mack Truck" Long - Russell Clark
- Bonnie Parker - Clyde Barrow
- Helen Wawzynak - Lester Joseph Gillis, aka George "Baby Face" Nelson
- Virginia Hill - Bugsy Siegel
- Judith Exner - Sam Giancana
[edit] Related terms
- gunman - a man who uses a gun to commit a crime
- gunsel - a derogatory name for a criminal carrying a gun; from the Yiddish gendzel, "little goose", thought to be a slang term for catamite
- moll - common term for whore or prostitute, and also the nickname of a 17th century criminal Moll Cutpurse
[edit] In popular culture
- The Lady in Red (1979)
- Ruby (1977)
- Jigsaw (1949)
- Gang Smashers (1938)
- Outside the Law (1921)
