busting a cap

[thirty-eight]

I recently found the sentence, "The fact that you inquired before busting a cap indicates that you want to be safe." Not from a recent documentary on inner-city gang member violence, rather, from a reply in "The Information Bench" column, July 1960 issue of Precision Shooting magazine. I had to read it a few times.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

SMH....

 

[wayneinFL]

I recently found the sentence, "The fact that you inquired before busting a cap indicates that you want to be safe." Not from a recent documentary on inner-city gang member violence, rather, from a reply in "The Information Bench" column, July 1960 issue of Precision Shooting magazine. I had to read it a few times.

The phrase "bust a cap" refers to percussion cap muzzleloaders or cap and ball revolvers. Street gangs are full of history buffs, apparently.

 

[Mk-211]

All that's old is new again!

 

[buck460XVR]

I had always heard it as "Popping a cap" and iffin' I remember correctly the phrase goes back as early as the 1800s. Around 2000, Rapper's starting to use the phase with "in someone's azz" added to it. Similar to the phrase, "Lock, Stock and Barrel", some things never go out of date.

 

[The Last Outlaw]

I had always heard it as "Popping a cap" and iffin' I remember correctly the phrase goes back as early as the 1800s. Around 2000, Rapper's starting to use the phase with "in someone's azz" added to it. Similar to the phrase, "Lock, Stock and Barrel", some things never go out of date.

Rappers were using that phrase years before 2000.

 

[Howland937]

Rappers were using that phrase years before 2000.

And likely the slang was used on the streets prior to rap's existence.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

And probably had more to do with toy cap guns and the caps fired in them than muzzle loading.

 

[The Last Outlaw]

And likely the slang was used on the streets prior to rap's existence.

Yeah, I remember hearing it on the street in the eighties, any use before that was before my time

 

[tmd16556]

Yet no one on the streets says they’re going to “pop a rim” if they’re carrying a .22. What has this world come to!

 

[Ethan Verity]

Well... technically a modern cartridge primer is still just a percussion cap, but with a little anvil in the middle to take the place of the nipple. So, I guess the term still sort-of works.