{{Distinguish||text=Baton or Sandbag}}{{Short description|Makeshift weapon}} [[File:Loaded sock.jpg|thumb|Loaded sock with a billiards ball inside.]] [[File:Duel with sand filled sock.jpg|thumb|A duel between Louise Henin and Andrée Merle in Paris in 1921, seen here hitting each other with loaded socks full of sand, as drawn by ''Le Petit Journal''. In this era, socks loaded with sand were known as "sandbags." ]] A '''loaded sock'''<ref name=":0" /> (or '''stocking'''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parker-Hulme murder in Christchurch {{!}} NZ History |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/parker-hulme-murder-christchurch?fbclid=IwY2xjawPT4sdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFnUlJpOTdET1EycWlnQ0Eyc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhYIA1ipwcsSvSFXDW9YT7BrPqsvc6clvNiJC1mmYflo9Lxv5Q5m6k7ENCoo_aem_IvOMZCR39yWM2cl8kO5y7w |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz}}</ref> also known as a '''weighted sock''',<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 6, 2015 |title=STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JARUS SMITH - Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hickman County No. 12-5132CRB Timothy L. Easter, Judge |url=https://tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/smithjarusopn.pdf |website=tncourts.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Munson |first=Jeff |date=2020-10-13 |title=Carson City man jailed for allegedly hitting man with weighted sock with lock inside |url=https://www.carsonnow.org/10/13/2020/carson-city-man-jailed-allegedly-hitting-man-weighted-sock-lock-inside |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Carson Now |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Commonwealth v. Santiago {{!}} 12-P-1083 {{!}} Mass. App. Ct. {{!}} Judgment {{!}} Law {{!}} CaseMine |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914ed17add7b04934951092 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.casemine.com |language=en}}</ref> '''cosh''',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Weapons |url=https://baltimorepolicemuseum.com/en/component/content/article/482-bpd-weapons |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=baltimorepolicemuseum.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Elodie |date=2017-11-21 |title=Sock full of rocks among weapons seized by Police |url=https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/sock-full-rocks-among-weapons-seized-police/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Bailiwick Express News Jersey |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jersey |first=States of |title=Weapon seizures (FOI) |url=https://www.gov.je/Government/FreedomOfInformation/pages/foi.aspx?ReportID=1766 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=gov.je |language=en}}</ref> '''slungshot''','''<ref name=":1" />'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=A delve into Impact Weapons of the past remade in the present |url=https://www.davidsonleather.com/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=www.davidsonleather.com}}</ref> '''blackjack''','''<ref name=":1" />''' '''sap''',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pike |first=Travis |date=2021-03-18 |title=Improvised Weapons 101: How to Make a Sap |url=https://sofrep.com/gear/improvised-weapons-101-how-to-make-a-sap/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=SOFREP |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lincoln |first=J. M. |last2=Chen |first2=L.-H. |last3=Mair |first3=J. S. |last4=Biermann |first4=P. J. |last5=Baker |first5=S. P. |date=June 2006 |title=Inmate-made weapons in prison facilities: assessing the injury risk |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2563516/ |journal=Injury Prevention: Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=195–198 |doi=10.1136/ip.2005.010405 |issn=1353-8047 |pmc=2563516 |pmid=16751452}}</ref> or '''beaner''', is any common form of sock or stocking filled or stuffed with hard items to be used as a blunt force makeshift weapon, often with the intent to murder. The socks can also be filled with lighter items like a bar of soap,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Espantoon |url=https://baltimorepolicemuseum.com/en/component/content/article/111-espantoon?catid=30&Itemid=101 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=baltimorepolicemuseum.com}}</ref> or wet sand,<ref name=":2" /> to mutilate or seriously injure the target. Socks might also be loaded with pennies or other coins, rocks, locks, dominoes, or other hard items.

==Derived terms== A common phrase used to describe hitting someone with a loaded sock is to '''sock it to them''', which has since evolved to mean generally winning something.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SOCK IT TO Definition & Meaning {{!}} Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sock-it-to |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.dictionary.com}}</ref> The colloquialism or reference term – many of them neologistic – which describes the loaded sock depends on what the sock has been loaded with. A sock loaded with one or more rocks is often called a '''rock in a sock''',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Amy |date=2025-12-04 |title='Rock in a sock' thug back in court following toilet tantrum |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rock-sock-thug-back-court-33002737 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}</ref> or a '''rock sock''',<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-02-22 |title=ROCK SOCK WITNESS |url=https://distributionarchives.cbcrc.ca/en/items/d5ff6d1c-1f3d-498c-8843-ac1cc0da773c |website=cbcrc.ca}}</ref> just as one with a lock has been called a '''lock in a sock''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sociolinguistics of Prison Slang {{!}} Atarah Group |url=https://www.atarahgroupinternational.org/papers/the-sociolinguistics-of-prison-slang |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Atarah Group International |language=en-US}}</ref> or '''lock sock''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Handmade Illegal Prison Weapons |url=http://www.murdermiletours.com/1/post/2019/11/handmade-illegal-prison-weapons.html |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Murder Mile UK True Crime Podcast - "one of the best British & UK True Crime podcasts" |language=en}}</ref> this pattern might follow for any other object.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Knox |first=George W. |title=NGCRC Special Report: Gang Problems in American Jails |url=https://ngcrc.com/2019jail.report.pdf |series=Journal of Gang Research, Volume 27, Number 1, Fall, 2019 |page=13}}</ref>

==Military use== Loaded socks have been used in guerrilla warfare and irregular warfare for hundreds of years, such as those used by British scouts during the Second Boer War to silently kill sentries during the Relief of Mafeking. The authors of ''Colonel Z'' write that this battle was: "...another opportunity for Claude Dansey to take his loaded sock to the sentries..."<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Read |first=Anthony |url=http://archive.org/details/colonelzsecretli0000read |title=Colonel Z: The Secret Life of a Master of Spies |last2=Fisher |first2=David |date=1985 |publisher=New York, N.Y. : Viking |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-670-22979-6 |page=47}}</ref> Loaded socks have been used as weapons during protests against police or paramilitary forces, while police forces hit back with batons. They might occasionally be used as projectile weapons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Halligan |first=Esther |date=2025-01-18 |title=Teen who threw loaded sock at police weeps as he is locked up |url=https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/teen-who-threw-loaded-sock-30804749 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Teesside Live |language=en}}</ref> Loaded socks are often used in blanket parties as part of military hazing rituals, such as at basic training, or during the Crossing The Line Ceremony of many navies.

==Wider use==

Loaded socks are also used by members of gangs and organized crime as methods of physical intimidation during protection racket schemes.<ref>New Orleans Republican. December 22, 1875. Page 5</ref> In the Victorian era, loaded socks with sand in them were known as '''sandbags''', and gangs like the Peaky Blinders and the Sluggers often made use of them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peaky Blinders: The Legacy Review |url=https://www.crimereview.co.uk/page.php/review/9020 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.crimereview.co.uk}}</ref> Loaded socks can also be used in muggings, as was done in the 1700's by filling a stocking with sand or leadshot.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Norton |first=Rictor |title=Footpads and Street Robbers (The Georgian Underworld, Chap. 9) |url=http://rictornorton.co.uk/gu09.htm |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240621060636/http://rictornorton.co.uk/gu09.htm |archive-date=2024-06-21 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=rictornorton.co.uk}}</ref>

Loaded socks are used in common forms of prison violence.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=People v. Villareal, H038081 |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914f412add7b04934984762 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=www.casemine.com |series=Cal. Ct. App., Judgment, Law |language=en}}</ref> Loaded socks in prisons are usually filled with hard items, but can also often be filled with sharp objects like blades.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-03 |title=Sex offender cut prison officer with loaded sock weapon |url=https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/19890872.sex-offender-cut-isle-wight-prison-officer-loaded-sock/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Isle of Wight County Press |language=en}}</ref> Other prisoners might prefer loading socks with plug sockets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greaves |first=Paul |date=2021-12-15 |title=Violence escalates at Exeter prison as officer attacked plug-loaded sock |url=https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/violence-escalates-exeter-prison-officer-6352825 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Devon Live |language=en}}</ref> Loaded socks are often used during prison escapes, such as the one used at New Jersey State Prison in 1909.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 1909 |title=FIGHTS CONVICT ON PRISON WALL; Keeper, Winded by Blow with a Loaded Sock, Knocked Out with His Own Pistol. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/11/17/archives/fights-convict-on-prison-wall-keeper-winded-by-blow-with-a-loaded.html |website=nytimes.com |publisher=The New York Times}}</ref> Some loaded socks are stuffed with single soup cans.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-02-22 |title=Custard tin attacker’s 10-year prison sentence cut on appeal |url=https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/22989137.custard-tin-attackers-10-year-prison-sentence-cut-appeal/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=The Hunts Post |language=en}}</ref>

Loaded socks have been used as forms of sexual violence and physical abuse in domestic relationships.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Nicole |title=Police: man in soap beating skips sentencing, re-arrested |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/robertson/2016/09/27/police-man-soap-beating-skips-sentencing-re-arrested/91179302/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==

* In the film ''Full Metal Jacket'', loaded socks filled with bars of soap are used to beat a USMC recruit named Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence, played by Vincent D'Onofrio. * In a match of ''World Championship Wrestling'' at the Richmond Coliseum on June 17, 1996, Big Bubba assaulted John Tenta with a loaded sock.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-16 |title=WCW - 1996 Results |url=https://thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw-results-1996/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=thehistoryofwwe.com |language=en-US}}</ref> * In an episode of ''Prison Break'', Bellick hits Mahone with a loaded sock to secure the top bunk.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Kate |date=January 24, 2007 |title=''Prison Break'': Uneasy alliances |url=https://ew.com/recap/prison-break-uneasy-alliances/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref> * Loaded socks are mentioned in the December 1979 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's ''Mystery Magazine.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephen |first=Wasylick |date=December 1979 |title=No Ghost to Bury |url=https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/luminist/PU/AHMM_1979_12.pdf |series=Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine |page=76}}</ref> * In ''End of Watch'' by Stephen King, Holly kills Hartsfield with a loaded sock called the Happy Slapper.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilwol |first=John |date=2016-06-14 |title=King wraps neo-noir trilogy with hard-boiled gusto |url=https://www.timescolonist.com/archive/king-wraps-neo-noir-trilogy-with-hard-boiled-gusto-4637530 |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Times Colonist |language=en}}</ref> * In an episode of ''Seinfeld'', ''The Reverse Peephole'', Kramer is afraid someone might hit him with a "sock full of pennies."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dobin |first=Eric |date=2023-06-12 |title=Nine Weird Ways Kramer Changed His Apartment on ‘Seinfeld’ |url=https://www.cracked.com/article_38338_nine-weird-ways-kramer-changed-his-apartment-on-seinfeld.html |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Cracked.com |language=en}}</ref> * In the series ''iCarly'', the character Sam Puckett uses a loaded sock that she calls the "butter sock."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-12 |title=Why the Butter Sock is the Best Weapon |url=https://www.hercampus.com/school/geneseo/why-butter-sock-best-weapon/ |access-date=2026-01-14 |language=en-US}}</ref> * In an episode of the reality show ''The Only Way Is Essex'', a character gets arrested for assaulting someone at a Walmart using a loaded sock.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 26, 2025 |title=‘There was blood everywhere…’ TOWIE star is arrested after allegedly attacking a woman at a Walmart checkout with a sock stuffed with stone |url=https://shot.feji.io/blog/there-was-blood-everywhere-towie-star-is-arrested-after-allegedly-attacking-a-woman-at-a-walmart-checkout-with-a-sock-stuffed-with-stones-horrified-witnesses-describe-the-shocking-moment-the-makeshift-weapon-swung-through-the-air-as-police-launch-a-major-investigation-into-the-chaotic-scene-suong |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=shot.feji.io |language=en}}</ref> * One of the characters in ''Thicker Than Water'', Diamond Tankard, is arrested for using a loaded sock with rocks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sauter |first=Danica |last2=Riet |first2=Emily Van de |date=2025-07-21 |title=Former Bravo reality TV star accused of beating woman at Walmart with sock full of rocks |url=https://www.kgns.tv/2025/07/21/former-bravo-reality-tv-star-accused-beating-woman-walmart-with-sock-full-rocks/ |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.kgns.tv |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==

* Sticky bomb * Millwall brick

== References == <references />

== External links ==

* [https://x.com/NATERERUN/status/1770242017487986967?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1770504456125166012%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url= Twitter video showing use of loaded sock]

Category:Prison violence Category:Improvised weapons Category:Socks