Syksey
Encyclopedia
Syksey was the pseudonym
of an American criminal and member of the Bowery Boys
. He was supposedly the lieutenant and longtime companion to Mose the Fireboy
during the 1840s, often the storyteller of his feats, and is credited for coining the phrase "hold 'de but", a common expression used during the mid-to late 19th century meaning to borrow a dead cigar or to "bum a smoke". He was later portrayed in Benjamin Baker
's play Mose, the Bowery B'hoy which performed at the old Olympic Theater in 1849 and later toured throughout the United States during the late 1840s and 50s. His pseudonym may have been derived from Bill Sikes
, the sidekick of gang leader Fagin
from Oliver Twist
.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of an American criminal and member of the Bowery Boys
Bowery Boys
The Bowery Boys were a nativist, anti-Catholic, and anti-Irish gang based north of the Five Points district of New York City in the mid-19th century. They were primarily stationed in the Bowery section of New York, which was, at the time, extended north of the Five Points...
. He was supposedly the lieutenant and longtime companion to Mose the Fireboy
Mose the Fireboy
Mose the Fireboy was the pseudonym of an American folk hero and supposed leader of the Bowery Boys during the 1840s, possibly based on Mose Humphrey. One of its most celebrated leaders during the period, he and his lieutenant Syksey were well-known for battling members of the Dead Rabbits and...
during the 1840s, often the storyteller of his feats, and is credited for coining the phrase "hold 'de but", a common expression used during the mid-to late 19th century meaning to borrow a dead cigar or to "bum a smoke". He was later portrayed in Benjamin Baker
Benjamin Baker
Sir Benjamin Baker KCB KCMG FRS FRSE was an eminent English civil engineer who worked in mid to late Victorian era. He helped develop the early underground railways in London with Sir John Fowler, but he is best known for his work on the Forth Bridge...
's play Mose, the Bowery B'hoy which performed at the old Olympic Theater in 1849 and later toured throughout the United States during the late 1840s and 50s. His pseudonym may have been derived from Bill Sikes
Bill Sikes
William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
, the sidekick of gang leader Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
from Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
.
Further reading
- Blair, Walter. Tall Tale America: A Legendary History of Our Humorous Heroes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. ISBN 0-226-05596-5
- Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.
- Jagendorf, Moritz Adolph. Upstate, Downstate: Folk Stories of the Middle Atlantic States. New York: Vanguard Press, 1949.