From michael.a.worsley@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Fri Nov 30 20:40:05 2018
On Tuesday, November 27, 2001 at 12:35:04 AM UTC, Tom Line wrote:
# Saw a small Saturday Night Special come into a shop (not safe to
# buy/fire/sell). It was called a "Roscoe". I was wondering what the origin
# of the word "Roscoe" is when referring to a firearm.
The earliest version of this description I have come across is in the Damon Runyon "Guys & Dolls" short stories of the 1930s