the.com/mobster
A member of a criminal organization that profits through violence, intimidation, and illegal enterprise.
means A member of an organized crime gang, typically one involved in racketeering, violence, and other illegal enterprise run like a business.
from Built from 'mob' — which itself traces back to the Latin phrase 'mobile vulgus,' meaning 'the fickle crowd' — plus the agent suffix '-ster,' the same ending found in 'gangster.' 'Mob' had long meant an unruly crowd before it narrowed, in early 20th-century American slang, to mean an organized crime group; 'mobster' followed close behind, popping up in newspapers and Prohibition-era crime reporting as shorthand for the men running the rackets.
- preferred title
- made man, not employee of the month
- dress code
- tracksuits or $3,000 suits, no middle ground
- exit strategy
- witness protection or no protection at all
- org chart
- flatter than you think, deadlier than HR