euqinimod
04/12/10, 03:07 PM
shanghai (SHANG-hy)
verb tr.: To recruit someone forcibly or by fraud into doing something.
Etymology
After Shanghai, a major seaport in east China. The term derives from the former practice (mid-1800s to early 1900) of luring men, by the use of drugs, liquor, or violence into serving on US ships destined for East Asia. People who recruited sailors in this manner were called crimps. The practice ended with The Seamen's Act of 1915 that made crimping a federal crime.
Usage
"I know that no one shanghais people into joining the police or becoming a medic, but it does us no harm to remind ourselves from time to time how off-the-scale gnarly these jobs are." — Caitlin Moran; Buttocks on the Skirting Board?; The Times (London, UK); Jan 25, 2010.
---www.answers.com
verb tr.: To recruit someone forcibly or by fraud into doing something.
Etymology
After Shanghai, a major seaport in east China. The term derives from the former practice (mid-1800s to early 1900) of luring men, by the use of drugs, liquor, or violence into serving on US ships destined for East Asia. People who recruited sailors in this manner were called crimps. The practice ended with The Seamen's Act of 1915 that made crimping a federal crime.
Usage
"I know that no one shanghais people into joining the police or becoming a medic, but it does us no harm to remind ourselves from time to time how off-the-scale gnarly these jobs are." — Caitlin Moran; Buttocks on the Skirting Board?; The Times (London, UK); Jan 25, 2010.
---www.answers.com