small-gangv.
/ˈsmɔːlɡaŋ/, U.S. /ˈsmɔlˌɡæŋ/, /ˈsmɑlˌɡæŋ/ slang (now rare).
transitive. Of a group of people: to attack (a person) together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)] > in a riot
rabble1661
scour1681
mob1696
small-gang1851
riot1886
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 420/2 They ‘small-ganged’ me; and afterwards I went seven days to prison.
1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens 162 I see 'em kind o' looking and talking low; so, think I, they're going to small-gang me.
1925 Alton (Illinois) Evening Tel. 6 Mar. 15/7 He seemed to care little whether the men small-ganged Drake and beat him.
1992 M. J. Childs Labour's Apprentices (1995) iv. 83 Nor were adults immune to such practices as ‘small-ganging’, a concerted attack by the youths upon ‘some particularly obnoxious man’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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