Wordinistas! Check out A Way With Words, public radio's call-in show about language.
Dictionary definition of “hawasim”

hawasim

n. a looter or thief. Subjects: , , ,
Citations: 2003 [A.Y.S.] Iraq at a glance (Baghdad, Iraq) (Nov. 1) “Freedom is a Responsibility”: I said “do you have a car?!” he said “yes, doctor,” at once I concluded that he was a thief (in slang known as Hawasim, a name derived from Saddam’s description to the coming war at that time as Al-hawasim which means The Decisive War, after the end of the war, everyone whom seen in the loot and robbery is called ‘Hawasim’ !!). 2004 Mushriq Abbas, Nasir al-Ali Al-Nahdah (Iraq) (Mar. 15) p. 1 @ BBC Monitoring Middle East (Mar. 19, 2004) “Iraqi report on smuggling of Saddam era tanks, heavy arms to Iran”: According to residents of the area, hundreds of tanks have been purchased from civilians, Al-Hawasim gangs [a term used by Iraqis to refer to the thieves well-nourished during and after the last war, which was named Al-Hawasim by the former regime], or the foreign forces. [2004 Patrick Graham @ Iraq Harper’s (June 1) “Beyond Fallujah” vol. 308, no. 1849, p. 37: Saddam had called this war the Harb Al Hawasim, the Final War, and Iraqis immediately renamed looted goods in Iraq Hawasim.] 2004 Peter Y. Hong @ Baghdad, Iraq Los Angeles Times (July 19) “Baghdad Real Estate Sizzles Amid Chaos” p. A1: Some of his customers, he said, are hawasim, looters who took part in the rampant plundering of government buildings, banks, Iraqi army bases and businesses after the war.

Leave a comment (must be approved by the moderator before it will appear).

Name (mandatory):

Email (mandatory):

Location (optional):

Your Web Site (optional):

Remember my personal information

Notify me, by email, of follow-up comments.

Recent Catchwords
bunny line n. (7/22)
flipper n. (7/22)
landscraper n. (7/21)
show me run n. (7/21)
caravanger n. (7/21)
showmance n. (7/21)
sagger n. (7/21)
brickor mortis n. (7/21)
barsexual adj. (7/21)
fun with two n. (7/21)
fauji n. (7/21)
walk on a bank n. (7/20)
tick-tock n. (7/18)
wet-brain drunk n. (7/18)
war-fighter n. (7/17)
brass ceiling n. (7/17)
bug n. (7/17)
camp arm n. (7/17)
tank trap n. (7/17)
tight gas n. (7/16)
 More catchwords...
New Comments
renos jenson commented on Collyer (7/23)
David commented on tumpsy (7/23)
Ben Zimmer commented on tick-tock (7/22)
Joe Bloggs commented on roflcopter (7/21)
Daniel Morin commented on rent a judge (7/21)
Melody commented on black bamboo (7/19)
Wes Boudville commented on Googleganger (7/19)
MICO ~as~ LATIN PRIDE! commented on all-city (7/18)
Jeff commented on war-fighter (7/17)
M. Laubhan commented on soap scrimmage (7/17)
Ellen commented on Brookings effect (7/17)
AZo752 commented on doughnuting (7/17)
jason commented on fobbit (7/15)
SBQuill commented on doughnuting (7/15)
Some Guy commented on ghetto latte (7/15)
Subscribe to the RSS feed.Subscribe to the mailing list.Browse the archive.Add to Technorati Favorites. © 1999-2008 by Grant Barrett, Double-Tongued Dictionary, New York City.