comshaw

English

Etymology

From Hokkien 感謝／感谢 (kám-siā, “thanks”).

Noun

comshaw (countable and uncountable, plural comshaws)

1. (China) A bribe or gratuity for a service or for arranging a deal; squeeze.
   • 1888, Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society:

     I have understood that the parents frequently receive handsome comshaws for their daughter, but never give anything with them ; they cannot therefore be charged with the meanness of marrying for money: at least the men are free from the charge and the women don't appear to have so much as a negative in the business.

   • 1899, Textile World - Volume 16, page 40:

     It is a case of cash down; you have to part there and then, and on the strength of this “comshaw,” or squeeze.

   • 1947, James Johnston Abraham, The Surgeon's Log: Impressions of the Far East, page 128:

     They were busy at it when we came up from tiffin; and I took the opportunity of snapshotting one fat old lady with a baby on her back while the sun was out for a moment. She saw me in the act, and immediately demanded a comshaw.

   • 1968, Francis Fisher Browne, Scofield Thayer, Waldo Ralph Browne, The Dial - Volumes 52-53, page 429:

     He posed himself delightedly, pulling his sword well round to the front, and then demanded ' comshaw.' A cigarette completely satisfied him.

   • 2010, James Shuler, James -Vol. I, →ISBN, page 24:

     I'm sure he just wanted some money - some comshaw - the little kids are beggars - money mister, money mister, no momma, no papa, no comshaw.

2. (naval slang) The practice of pilfering or bartering for surplus items.
   • 1990, Jay Carty, Something's Fishy: Getting Rid of the Carp in Your Life, →ISBN, page 145:

     The practice was so common it was no longer considered stealing. It was comshaw. That kind of thinking made the Iran/Contra arms scandal and Watergate okay at the time. It's comshaw when you do it, but it's stealing when you get caught; it's politics when you do it, but it's illegal when you're found out.

   • 2002, Ed Goodrich, Riggers that dive, page 53:

     Mostly by way of "comshaw," a sailor's term for bartering, but it was usually a coffee grounds deal at LBNS.

   • 2013, James Carl Duncan, Adventures of a Tennessean, →ISBN, page 125:

     I was able to accomplish these comshaw and midnight small stories because my crew and I knew what we needed! If there were items, which our ship required, left abandoned anywhere, those items were ours. Perhaps the thing that made our activities to recover beached small boats or the comshaw of items from the navy supply depot so easy was the fact that my entire salvage crew was with me on this LST.

   • 2017, Jean Shellenbarger, The 9th Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division, in Vietnam, →ISBN, page 35:

     What a day! Started off with early comshaw run to 2/5—got 2 jackets, 1 boots. Gave 1 jacket to SSgt. Lelansky.

Related terms

• cumshaw

Verb

comshaw (third-person singular simple present comshaws, present participle comshawing, simple past and past participle comshawed)

1. (naval slang) To acquire without officially requisitioning; to pilfer or barter for surplus items.
   • 1972, Bruce Jackson, In the life: versions of the criminal experience, page 124:

     Chips in Las Vegas are as negotiable as green money. You can take them into any club and cash them in for money, for $5 or $10 or whatever it is. So all you've got to do is put a chip in the end of your fingers, turn your hand down like you're trying to touch your wrist, and you can comshaw — or steal — comshaw is a much better word — a $25 chip from a table.

   • 2000, Richard Winston, The Gundeckers: A Description of the Michigamme Mutiny, →ISBN, page 99:

     As soon as she was recommissioned Com7thFleet had comshawed her for his flagship.

   • 2008, Janice Minott, Letters from Kabul 1966-1968: A Memoir, →ISBN, page 119:

     He was able to "comshaw" (as they say in the US Navy) the cable from the German engineers at a nearby dam.

   • 2013, Dorien Grey, A World Ago: A Navy Man's Letters Home (1954-1956), →ISBN, page 206:

     Oh, yes, did I mention I comshawed (somewhere between “borrowed” and “stole”) a large map of the US. and plotted my way home?

   • 2014, C. Edward Samuels, Blood & Roses, →ISBN, page 350:

     His anger is somewhat satiated by the presence of an amazing arsenal of Special Operations weapons he has managed to beg, borrow and otherwise comshaw.

Anagrams

• Chawmos