zip gun

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zip gun (plural zip guns)

1. (firearms) A crude homemade weapon that fires a projectile.
   • 1968, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Riots, Civil and Criminal Disorders:

     As pertaining to my idea of zip guns, we didn't use the old type of zip gun any more because they were too dangerous. That was just a pipe and a piece of wood and nail and rubber band.

   • 1998, Vincent J.M. DiMaio, Gunshot Wounds, page 282:

     The simplest zip gun seen by the author was a metal tube in which a .22 Magnum cartridge was inserted. It was fired by striking the protruding base of the cartridge with a hammer.

   • 2005, Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts:

     During the interview, Flaco whips out a zip gun he's hidden beneath his testicles during the pat-down search prior to transfer to GID, and presents it to Detective Rydell.

   • 2012, Arnold Silveri, Turning the Corner on Life, page 59:

     . “Oh, so we got annuduh tough guy here,” he said, pulling out a gun from his leather jacket. It looked like a real gun, but who knew, maybe it was zip gun.

• slam gun

From being a gas stream emitter shaped like a gun.

zip gun (plural zip guns)

1. (astronautics) An EVA astronaut space maneuvering propulsion unit, a handheld gas jet device, connected to a reservoir.

• gunzip, ungzip