bang in

v. to call in sick to work; (hence), to take a day off from work under false pretenses. Subjects: English, United States, Slang

Editorial Note: This is probably related to bang the books ‘to commit time and attendance fraud,’ which at least one source indicates is part of FBI jargon.

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Citations: 1982 New York Times (Mar. 26) “Jargon Of Correction Officers” p. B4: Banging in—When an officer calls in sick. 1987 Mike Barnicle Boston Globe (Mar. 20) “On His Route To Happiness” p. 19: All of us know people who, at one time or another, have banged in sick instead of going to the plant or the office in the morning even though there was nothing physically wrong with them. 1994 Peter J. Howe Boston Globe (Feb. 15) “Sick-day abuse abates since crackdown by Weld” p. 15: Gov. Weld, who has had mixed results purging state government of the alleged hacks and layabouts he once called “walruses,” has scored a rare success in attacking part of the walrus culture—abuse of sick time. State Revenue Department employees two years ago were the leaders in what Beacon Hill bureaucrats have dubbed “banging in.” 1996 [hannigan@bose.com (Martin Hannigan)] Usenet: ne.general (Jan. 9) “Re: How are big companies handling employee “snow days?””: I can’t speak for THIS company, but the way I think it all works is Non-Exempty (Hourly) people don’t get paid and use a finite number of sick days if they do happen to bang in sick on any day, including snow. 1998 [gisdan@mindspring.com (Daniel G.)] Usenet: alt.snail-mail (Jan. 13) “Re: Excessive Sick Leave?”: Before I was hired, a few of our city carriers worked nights at Yankee Stadium as ushers. They banged in so that they could work an afternoon game, and wound up on TV. Waved to the camera and everything. They were seen. No discipline. 1998 gary.saffer@mondo.org (Gary Saffer) Usenet: sci.optics.fiber (Jan. 18) “Question”: In Boston, when one “Bangs out,” it means to call in sick for your shift. Conversely, the police “Bang IN.” 2004 [Sullysox] Sons of Sam Horn: P&G Archives #3 (Mar. 4) “I banged in today”: I banged in today. I haven’t been this hungover since college. I feel kinda guilty about calling in sick. 2004 Bill Tortolini Dabel Brothers Forums (June 3): I banged in sick to work for 2 days to finish the last GRRM book! 2004 Sari Horwitz Washington Post (Oct. 18) “Police Show Strain From Endless Alerts”: By the end of the Columbus Day weekend, more than 70 officers charged with protecting Congress had called in sick. It was the largest number of Capitol Police officers who ever had “banged in.” Many of them say they really were sick—an illness brought on by fatigue.

Posted 26 Oct 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend