A cool synonym for a violent criminal,
popular among non-thugs. The word itself has a much cooler history, and it comes from Hindi "thag", literally meaning "swindler" or "deceiver", and it was used by the British to denote a disorganized group of Indians who worshipped goddess
Kali - a violent and most powerful avatar of Shakti who defends the innocent through military prowess and brutality. They committed brutal murders, silent assassinations and theft in her
name, mostly against the British. In fairness, many historians question the validity of the British account of thugs, since they might have
blown their threat out of proportion just to solidify "Britain strong" image among royal subjects, when in fact they were
nothing out of the ordinary.
American "thug": I sit around on my ass all day, high on
coke, occasionally mumbling ghostwritten lyrics into the mic to the producer made beat.
Indian THUG: I just strangled the British wife in her sleep, decapitated the
father, then kidnapped and sacrificed the daughter to
Kali, the goddess of badassery.