gayola · noun — the practice of American police departments extorting bribes from gay bars, especially in the 1950s and 60s, in return for not raiding them; such a bribe. It carries an Arena rating of 1293, earned across 157 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gayola ranks #110 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #1,040 of 17,174 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,478 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #2,914 of 17,201 for Funniest Words.
Why “gayola” is a great word
GAYOLA — [Noun] The systematic extortion of bribes by American police from gay bars, in exchange for immunity from raids or legal harassment, especially during the mid-20th century. From gay (referring to homosexual people or establishments) + -ola (a suffix of obscure origin, possibly from Spanish or Italian, used in American slang to form nouns, often with a commercial or pejorative sense). Unlike a general "protection racket" (which menaces any business with the threat of criminal damage) or "blackmail" (which leverages the threat of revealing secrets), gayola was a state-sanctioned predation that exploited the criminalized status of homosexuality itself. It was the weekly envelope of cash passed under the bar rail, the uniformed officer arriving on his regular collection night, and the tense silence bought so the music behind a door marked 'PRIVATE' could continue—a tax on existence levied by the very power sworn to protect it, turning the law into the most intimate of predators.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From gay + -ola.
noun
- The practice of American police departments extorting bribes from gay bars, especially in the 1950s and 60s, in return for not raiding them; such a bribe.e.g.“Every one of the bars that testified against the police department during the gayola inquiry was shut down.” — 1998, The American Journey: Derived from retrieving the American past, →ISBN:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- payola 57% match — A bribe given in exchange for a favor, such as one given in exchange for the promotion of goods or services (originally one given to a disk jockey to play a record). vs gayola →
- gaylord 56% match — Synonym of gay: a homosexual man. vs gayola →
- blogola 55% match — A form of payola in which a blogger is given money or other inducements to write favourably about a product or service. vs gayola →
- drugola 54% match — A bribe, in the form of recreational drugs, given to a disk jockey to play a record. vs gayola →
- gaybo 52% match — A homosexual man. vs gayola →
- plugola 51% match — Undeclared or illicit publicity or product promotion, especially on radio or television. vs gayola →
- gaydy 51% match — A gay lady; a lesbian. vs gayola →
- gaolyard 50% match — Dated spelling of jailyard. vs gayola →