Shamus

[janelh]

What's a shamus? Where does the word come from and is it pronounced 'shaymus' or 'shammus'?

[horseman]

A shamus is a private detective. Certainly the phrase was used by the classis crime writer Raymond Chandler, but I don't know where it originated.
In The Big Sleep there is an exchange between Philip Marlowe and Carmen, the exotic daughter of General Sternwood:
Carmen: You're not very tall, are you? Marlowe: Well, I, uh, I try to be. Carmen: Not bad looking. Oh you probably know it. Marlowe: Thank you. Carmen: What's your name? Marlowe: Reilly. Doghouse Reilly. Carmen: That's a funny kind of name. Marlowe: You think so. Carmen: Uh, uh. What are you? A prizefighter? Marlowe: No, I'm a shamus. Carmen: What's a shamus? Marlowe: It's a private detective. Carmen: You're making fun of me. Marlowe: Uh, uh.
The brilliant Dashiell Hammet, himself a one-time Pinkerton detective, also used the phrase and it is said that when Hammett started writing, there was a dictionary of the underworld which used the word "shamus" as a tag for a private detective. Hammett picked that word up, and it ran through all his stories.
These days the Shamus Award is given by the Private Eye Writers of America to honour excellent work in the genre.
If you want to see the list of prize winners and the books that won, go to this site
An target=_blank>http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv72.ht
ml
An
English translation of the Irish name Shamus would be James.