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What's the word used to call a mafia boss' subordinates?
I looked up in dictionary. There are: stooge, lingman, henchman, minion, yes man, lackey, underling.
But I don't know which word sounds most natural in this context, the context of crime, drugs, mafia, etc.
For example: The mafia boss ordered his..................to kidnap a that man's wife.
Which one should I use?
Thank you.
Mar 13, 2019 1:06 PM
Answers · 3
For someone who is a high level subordinate, I would use "consigliere." For a low level subordinate, I would use "muscle."
March 13, 2019
Henchman is the best choice of all of these because it means both (i) subordinate, and (ii) criminal. “Thug” would be another good choice: it always implies criminality, but it does not necessarily mean subordinate (depends on context). “Muscle” is another possible choice: it means a subordinate that a criminal uses for jobs requiring violence. Minion and underling and lackey all imply subordinate, but are used in many contexts (not just crime); minion and lackey have a pejorative connotation (you should be offended if somebody calls you one of those words), but “underling” is not offensive. “Yes man” has a different nuance; a yes man is almost always a subordinate, but the focus of the word is on a particular aspect of behavior (namely, always agreeing with the boss and flattering the boss). Stooge is old-fashioned. I’ve never heard of lingman (and could not find it as a word in Google).
March 13, 2019
In American English, the words that fit best are minion, henchman, and lackey.
Stooge is out of date; I’ve never heard lingman; and yes-man and underling are not specific enough.
March 13, 2019
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