''G-man'' (short for "government man", plural ''G-men'') is an American

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

term for agents of the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI). ''G-man'' is also a term used for members of

G Division G (detective) Division was a plainclothes divisional office of the Dublin Metropolitan Police concerned with detective police work.Patrick Maume, ‘Mallon, John (1839–1915)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2 ...

, a

Dublin Metropolitan Police The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin, Ireland, from 1836 to 1925, when it was amalgamated into the new Garda Síochána. History 19th century The Dublin city police had been subject to major reforms in 1786 and ...

unit operating out of Dublin Castle prior to Irish independence in 1922. Colonel Ned Broy uses the term in his official testimony for the Irish Army's Bureau of Military History in their archive of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

(1916) and the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

(1919–1921).

Origins and use in media

* According to the ''

Merriam-Webster Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's ...

'', the term "G-man" was first used in the year 1928. * The earliest citation in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' for the American usage of the term "G-man" was in 1930, from a biography of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

by F. D. Pasley. * In popular legend, the term originated during the September 1933 arrest of the gangster

George "Machine Gun" Kelly Machine Gun Kelly most often refers to: * Machine Gun Kelly (gangster) (1900–1954), American gangster. * Machine Gun Kelly (musician) (born 1990), American rapper. Machine Gun Kelly may also refer to: * ''Machine-Gun Kelly'' (film), 1958 film a ...

by agents of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), a forerunner of the FBI. Finding himself unarmed, Kelly supposedly shouted, ''"Don't shoot, G-men! Don't shoot!"'', although this is probably a fabrication. * The term was the basis of the title for the 1935 film ''

G Men ''G Men'' is a 1935 Warner Bros. crime film starring James Cagney, Ann Dvorak, Margaret Lindsay and Lloyd Nolan in his film debut. According to ''Variety,'' the movie was one of the top-grossing films of 1935. The supporting cast features Robe ...

'', starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

, which was one of the top-grossing films of that year. * Kelly's surrender is dramatized in the 1959 film ''

The FBI Story ''The FBI Story'' is a 1959 American drama film starring James Stewart, and produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead. Plot John Michael ("Chip") Hardesty (James S ...

''. The encounter with Kelly is similarly dramatized in the 1973 film ''

Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dill ...

''. The film was followed by a 1974 television film titled '' Melvin Purvis: G-Man''. * During Season 3 of ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

'' in the 1969 episode "Many Happy Returns" Ann Marie is faced with a sudden audit from the IRS. She refers to the income tax person as a ''G-Man''. * The Spanish Rock band

Hombres G Hombres G is a Spanish pop rock band, formed in Madrid in 1983. They are widely considered one of Spain's most prominent pop groups of the 1980s and early 1990s. The band consists of David Summers (bass, vocals), Rafael Gutierrez (guitar), Dani ...

got its name in 1983 from the Spanish translation of "G-man" and after the

film ''

''. * In the ''

Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...

'' video game series (1998—), one of the main characters is a "sinister interdimensional bureaucrat" called the

G-Man ''G-man'' (short for "government man", plural ''G-men'') is an American slang term for special agent, agents of the United States Government. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ''G-man'' i ...

. Dressed in a suit and tie, and often carrying a briefcase, he speaks in a cryptic manner, and periodically intervenes to store or utilise the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

Gordon Freeman Gordon Freeman is the silent protagonist of the ''Half-Life'' video game series, created by Gabe Newell and designed by Newell and Marc Laidlaw of Valve. His first appearance is in ''Half-Life''. Gordon Freeman is depicted as a bespectacled Ca ...

, to shape events. * The 2011 film ''

J. Edgar ''J. Edgar'' is a 2011 American biographical drama film based on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the film focuses on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palmer ...

'' includes a reference to the surrender scene in the 1959 film ''

''. * In the 2011 film '' X-Men: First Class'',

Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...

refers to his team as the "G-Men", but

Moira MacTaggart Dr. Moira MacTaggert (sometimes spelled ''MacTaggart'', ''McTaggart'', ''McTaggert''), more recently known as Moira X, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men ...

states that they are something different, and decides to name the team "X-Men". Charles finds the name amusing and keeps it.

References

Slang Federal Bureau of Investigation 1920s neologisms 1930s slang 1940s slang 1950s slang American slang South African slang Dublin Metropolitan Police {{slang-stub

Origins and use in media

See also

References