Harlem sunset

Definition

A fatal wound caused by a knife fight.

Etymology

Used in Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely (1940), suggesting the red colour of a sunset.

Example Sentences

• "One time there was five smokes carved Harlem sunsets on each other down on East Eighty-four."
• "This wasn't some punk carving Harlem sunsets on a drugstore attendant. This was a professional job."
• "The blade had been inches from showing Moe a Harlem sunset. A longer knife, or an extra twist, and Moe would've bled to death before the meat wagon arrived."