1930’s, rural US. There was an explosion of infrastructure projects but a lack of workers willing to work in unpredictable weather. Townships impressed convicts onto work gangs,
transported and/or forced to do the labor while attached by heavy iron chains. Because of the
possibility of sudden, downpours throughout the year, the chains had to be treated with a carnauba extract that sealed the metal against rust and ensured some measure of movement for those tethered together.
This additional weight coupled with the nature of the work made this option unsuitable for some criminals. These men were seen as lesser— cowards or failures, not given the
opportunity to leave prison grounds, required to stay in the building and apply the waxy film to the chains. Additionally, those who, during the course of the frequent violent confrontations with others, were injured sufficiently and could not work were also required to stay with the “
pussywillows” (a reference to the frail flora which grew in areas serviced by these groups). The idiom developed as a badge of honor, for those who beat others into being removed from the chained gang of workers and stuck with lesser men, rubbing the wax on chains for use in future work assignments. Getting someone placed on the chain-waxing detail was a show of strength for the
victor and a mark of
inferiority for the loser of any fight, thus ‘putting the pussy on the chain-wax’ became a popular refrain among those bragging of any equivalent conquest
