I am reading Charles Bukowski’s Pulp and as non-native English speaker I am finding decoding certain expressions challenging. For example the main character, Nicky Belane, often refers to himself using the phrase “best dick (in L.A.)”. Given the context, it seems to me the word “dick” is here used as for “detective”, but I couldn’t find this meaning anywhere else – in other books or on the internet.
One example:
The next day I took a chance and went back to the office. After all, what’s a dick without a office? (p. 16)
Or:
‘Hey,’ said McKelvey, ‘where’d you get that damned thing?’
‘A dick without a gat is like a tomcat with a rubber. Or like a clock without hands.’ (p. 13)
Answer
In hardboiled detective stories and noir fiction, dick is a well-established synonym for detective (particularly private detective
, as opposed to law enforcement).For example, from the Miskatonic Glossary of Hardboiled Slang:
Dick: Detective (usually qualified with “private” if not a policeman)
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Edgar Derby , Answer Author : Dan Bron
