Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Vocabulary Lesson: Dropsy

Dropsy! It's more than another (formal) name for edema. It's also an informal reference to a deliberate drop of one's contraband before one evades the law. This may be limited to the Baltimore court system.

I read this in the Baltimore Sun last month. The article provided the following situation as the lede. I think it makes a fine explanation:
At 7:40 p.m. Jan. 17, a police officer pulled his marked cruiser to a corner on Woodbine Avenue in Northwest Baltimore, got out and approached Antonio Walker-Bey, a face so familiar he knew him by his nickname. The officer, standing three to five feet away, said he saw the young man toss something to the ground and quickly walk away.
I think the term can probably be used when the drugs are planted, but I also think it's probably meant to be commonly used as the abandonment of one's stash.

Additional Resources:
A common case, an unending war, The Baltimore Sun

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