▪ I. benny1 U.S. slang.
(ˈbɛnɪ)
[app. shortening of benjamin2; cf. -y6.]
A sack coat; an overcoat.
| 1903 R. L. McCardell Conversations of Chorus Girl 29 He had on one of them dust-proof Bennys that delegates to Granger conventions wear. 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 17 Benny. General usage. A sack coat; derived from Benjamin, some say the biblical character, while others say the New York manufacturer of men's garments. 1931 ‘Dean Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route xiii. 145 The benny, or overcoat, he should have for at least four months in winter. 1945 L. Shelly Hepcats Jive Talk Dict. 7/2 Benny, an overcoat. 1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. XXIV. 126 An overcoat of full size and weight is called a benny. |
▪ II. benny2
(ˈbɛnɪ)
orig. U.S. Slang abbrev. of benzedrine.
| 1955 Amer. Speech XXX. 89. 1956 S. Longstreet Real Jazz xviii. 146 Of course, you can take bennies (Benzedrine)..but they make me too nervous. 1957 J. Kerouac On Road (1958) i. i. 6 You've got to stick to it with the energy of a benny addict. 1967 A. Diment Dolly Dolly Spy i. 11 The benny was starting to wear out and I was hot, thirsty and exhausted. |