Language or style characteristic or suggestive of that used in the short stories of Damon Runyon; especially slang or idiom typical of gangsters or the New York underworld.
Origin
1930s; earliest use found in The Observer. From the name of Damon Runyon + -ese.
Definition of Runyonese in US English:
Runyonese
nounˌrʌnjəˈniːz
Language or style characteristic or suggestive of that used in the short stories of Damon Runyon; especially slang or idiom typical of gangsters or the New York underworld.
Origin
1930s; earliest use found in The Observer. From the name of Damon Runyon + -ese.