"There was a crap-game in the laundry supply room some nights; on others it was blackjack or poker or acey-deucey. Whatever it was, the guards who participated were said to be washing their clothes. There was usually moonshine at these get-togethers, and on occasion a joystick would go around the circle. It's been the same in prisons since prisons were invented, I suppose."
This is a quote from Stephen King's The Green Mile. My question is about the word Joystick. What does it mean in this context? Logic suggests some type of cigarette, maybe even a joint, but the type of work these guys do (Prison Guards), and the year during which the scene takes place (1932) makes me doubt this. Any help? Googling it brought up the usual "slang" definition (penis). Pretty sure that's not what was passed around the circle.
Since "moonshine" can be used as a nickname for smuggled or illicitly distilled liquor, and since 1932 is during the Prohibition, maybe one shouldn't assume that prisons' guards are all that nice and law-abiding. I think that a cigarette or even a joint is a fairly logical interpretation of "joystick" in that context.
In addition, the word "stick" by itself can refer to a joint (also here), so the leap to "joystick" isn't that far-fetched.
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Thanks for your input. The moonshine reference is obvious, yes. But I'm not sure about the Joystick. It does make some sense, I guess. But this is definitely the first time I've seen the word used in this context. Perhaps just one of King's liberties.
My dad was a jazz musician in the 30s. He spoke of marijuana being smoked fairly openly during the years it was legal, as well as later in the decade when it was banned. I never heard him mention the term "joystick", but it seems a likely slang term for a cigarette rolled from "hay" or "gage", as it was usually called.
Exotic smoking defices, such as hookahs, were not used outside of homes and backroom dens of iniquity, due to difficulty of mobility.
I'm coming to the conclusion is was not but was a pipe of fine tobacco.
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