ers this idiom to 1833.
1.6. Idioms referring to the 20 th century
The period of Prohibition gave rise to several idioms pertaining to the organized crime. Many Americans first heard about this type of crime in the early 1920s when it was started by notorious Al Capone with bootlegging in Chicago. Later he came to control much of illegal activities: extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics, etc. (Flexner, 1982: 435). The activity of gangsters is reflected in the idiom take (someone) for a ride , which had a variant take (someone) for a one-way ride, the etymological meaning was "to kill someone in a moving car "; it was originally gangster's slang reflecting a common practice of exterminating a person without attracting attention. Metaphorical meaning is: "to trick, chit or deceive (someone)": He doesn't actually work for a charity at all, so the people who have sent him money have been taken for a ride .
Give (someone) the works " metaphorically means" to give someone the full treatment: They ve certainly given her the works at the hairdresser's - she's had her hair cut, tinted and permed. " The prototype meant, "to kill someone". the prototype of the idiom stool-pigeon " meaning" a pigeon tied to a stool and used as a decoy "goes back to the 1830's, the spread and active use refers to the 1920's (Flexner, 1982: 436). Idiomatic meaning is "an informer or spy especially for the police: The police received information about the planned robbery from a stoolpigeon. " later period can be seen in the idiom on the breadline " meaning "with barely enough money to live on: The widow and her children were living on the breadline . "The idiom reminds about The Great Depression (1929 - the late 1930's). But the worst period was between 1929 - 1933, when unemployment reached 13 million people in 1933, which comprised one fourth of the labor force. It is at that time that soup kitchens were opened by such organizations as Red Cross and Salvation Army in the United States, the poorest people queued in breadlines. So, the prototype of the idiom meant literally "queues of destitute people waiting for free food from soup-kitchens, especially run by the government. "
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