Meet Mr. Mayhem: 10 Unique Sons Of Anarchy Terms & Their Meanings

One of Sons Of Anarchy‘s biggest flaws is that it lacks smart talkers. Perhaps this is the reason why the Emmys often snubbed the show. None of the gangsters speak like James Bond villains while none of the protagonists give passionate speeches like Jordan Belfort. However, the show makes up for this by making use of unique terms.

It’s understandable to be confused when a character is said to be on the lam, or when someone is going to meet Mr. Mayhem. While most of the terms are unique to the show, real-life motorcycle clubs tend to use special slang too. Most of the practices by the charters in the show are influenced by real-life clubs too.

10 Protection Run

This refers to a mission by the Sons to protect a shipment or truck that is likely to be targeted by robbers. Most gun shipments normally require protection runs.

Earlier in the series, Charming Police Chief Wayne Unser uses the Sons for protections runs. He is said to own a company named Unser Shipping. Through it, he transports goods to Latin American countries. When he declares his intentions to retire, the Sons hold on to one of his shipments in order to arm-twist him into staying in office so that he can keep on protecting them.

9 Crow Eater

A Crow Eater is a woman who often hangs around the clubhouse of any Sons Of Anarchy charter whenever the members are partying. Crow Eaters normally hope to become romantically involved with one of the club members.

Several unnamed Crow Eaters have been seen throughout the series. Perhaps the most notable one is Cherry. She is said to have been a Crow Eater for 3 years before the start of the series. In Season 1, she takes up an interest in the Prospect Half Sack. Sadly, their love life turns out to be chaotic. Clay sleeps with her in order to annoy Half-Sack. And a short while after they reconcile, Half-Sack dies.

8 “Take It To The Table”

Well, it’s definitely not food or alcohol. Whenever the Sons talk about taking something to the table, they are referring to a sensitive issue that cannot be handled by one person alone. It’s thus appropriate for this issue to be voted on by all patched members.

When a matter is presented at the table, the members come up with two possible outcomes then they vote on the best one. The President then declares the vote as passed and an executive decision is sanctioned.

7 Prospect

In the world of Sons Of Anarchy, Prospect is simply a fancy word for an intern. A Prospect is a potential gangster that is seeking to prove himself to the club in order to get a full patch. Prospects are often given high-risk/fewer reward tasks that other club members consider unappealing.

The most popular Prospects in the show are undoubtedly Half-Sack Epps and Ratboy. A former veteran, Half-Sack gets along well with the Sons before tragedy strikes and he gets killed by Abel’s kidnapper. Ratboy is luckier as he goes on to become a fully patched member. Other notable Prospects are Filthy Phil, Shepard, and Eric Miles.

6 Nomad

A Nomad is a Sons Of Anarchy member who isn’t tied to any of the 46 charters. He is free to roam but he also happens to have privileges in all the existing charters.

Nomads can go anywhere to conduct a mission. The only people who can summon Nomads are the presidents of specific charters or the president of the mother charter. This is why Clay summoned a couple of Nomads and instructed them to stage break-ins in Charming in order to make Jax look like a weak leader.

5 “On The Lam”

This term means that someone is on the run. Before he commits suicide in the season finale, Jax goes on the lam since an APB has been put out on him for the numerous consecutive crimes he has just committed.

Gemma goes on the lam at the end of Season 2 after Agent June Stahl frames her for the death of Edmond Hayes. She does so again in Season 7 when Jax finds out that she killed Tara. Jax eventually catches her and when Unser shows up to arrest her in order to protect her, he kills him. He then shoots Gemma in the back of the head.

4 Old Lady

In the outside world, this term is generally used to refer to someone’s mother but in the FX series, an Old Lady is the wife of a SAMCRO member. Most Crow Eaters normally aspire to be Old Ladies.

Under the club rules, an Old Lady is supposed to be shown total respect by all club members. That’s why it was considered a serious offense when Bobby slept with Otto’s wife Luann. The head of all Old Ladies is referred to as the Queen. This is the wife of the club president. Gemma and Tara have both been Queens at different stages of the series.

3 Packing Double

Packing double has nothing to do with guns. When a SAMCRO member mentions that someone was packing double, he means that the person was carrying a woman on his bicycle.

Packing double often depends on the motorcycle type too. Some motorcycles only have a seat allowance for the rider only. Jax is the character that is seen packing double the most. He carries Tara on his motorcycle a couple of times. He is also seen carrying random women, including Ima, the women Tara caught him with.

2 Meet Mr. Mayhem

This is a term used instead of “kill.” A person who is going to meet Mr. Mayhem is a person who is about to get killed. In the show, people meet Mr. Mayhem very regularly. There have been a total of 151 kills by SAMCRO members alone.

The club can also vote for one of its members to meet Mr. Mayhem when he commits an offence that is unforgivable. Clay meets Mr. Mayhem for his numerous sins against the club. In the final season, the club also votes for Jax to meet Mr. Mayhem for killing a fellow president but he opts to go out on his own terms.

1 Hang Around

A Hang Around is a petty criminal/gangster/worker who happens to be an associated of the club. He normally assists the Sons in conducting operations or errands but doesn’t answer to the president.

In case he gets in trouble, the club is not expected to defend him or back him. A Hang Around is simply on his own. At times, a Hang Around gets approached by the club to be a Prospect. This was the case with the 3 Prospects who got hired after Half-Sack’s death as the club was short on numbers.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1211 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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