phrase
General Slang
Twister To The Slammer
/ˈtwɪstər tu ðə ˈslæmər/ · phrase · slang
A key to the door, in the playful coded style of pure Harlem jive.
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Definitions
1
A key, the 'twister' that turns in the 'slammer,' meaning the door.
“Grab the twister to the slammer, we're heading out.”
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2
Used to show off the elaborate, riddling flavor of hepster talk.
“Only a hep cat would call a key a twister to the slammer.”
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3
By extension, the means of getting in or out of a place.
“Who's got the twister to the slammer for the back room?”
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Twister To The Slammer In A Sentence
He patted his pocket for the twister to the slammer.
Lost my twister to the slammer, now I'm locked out, gate.
Hand me the twister to the slammer before the cats arrive.
Origin & Usage
1930s-40s Harlem jive slang, listed in Cab Calloway's 'Hepster's Dictionary,' where 'slammer' meant a door and 'twister' the key that turned in it. It typifies jive's delight in elaborate, descriptive coinings.
People Also Ask
What does 'twister to the slammer' mean?
It's jive for a key to the door, the 'twister' that turns in the 'slammer.'
Where did 'twister to the slammer' come from?
From 1930s-40s Harlem jive, recorded in Cab Calloway's 'Hepster's Dictionary.'
Does 'slammer' mean jail here?
No, in this jive phrase 'slammer' meant a door, not a prison.
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