A gun moll or gangster moll or gangster's moll is the female companion of a male professional criminal. "Gun" was British slang for thief, derived from Yiddish ganef (גנבֿ)[1]. "Moll" is also used as a euphemism for a woman prostitute.[2]
Notable examples
Prominent, true-life gun molls (and the men they were associated with) include:
Buda Godman (née Helen Julia Godman; 1888–1945)[3] – John Homer T. ("Dapper Jackie") French, member of the Lou Blonger Gang of Denver. A photo of Buda holding a gun is found in Philip S. Van Cise's Fighting the Underworld.[4]
Edna Murray – wife of "Diamond Joe" Sullivan, who was executed for murder in 1924. She then married Jack Murray, who was imprisoned for 25 years in 1925. She then lived with Volney Davis, until they were both arrested for kidnapping in 1935.
^"gun moll", The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2019
^"moll", The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2019
^"New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795–1949" (database), FamilySearch, March 20, 2015
"Helen Daniels," DOD – January 7, 1945; citing Death, Queens, New York, New York City Municipal Archives; FHL microfilm (GS Film No.) 2194201, NYC Queens Reference No. 308 (registration/login may be required, but is free)