Episode 271: Public Enemy Number One

 This week is a wild ride as Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Public Enemy No 1. Bonus: Poetic lyrical sons, Al Capone, and that time President Lincoln was taken hostage by... John Dillinger? Told you it would be a wild ride.

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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 271: Public Enemy Number One
Record Date: March 15, 2025
Air Date: March 26, 2025

Intro

Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.

I’m Shauna Harrison

Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh

Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.

Opening Hook
It’s 2021. You can imagine this news headline on the TV, radio, or on your phone.

“Heart disease still public enemy No 1, but COVID now the second leading cause of death worldwide.”
This is true of 2021: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death

And then you presumably click on the link, or keep tuning in to hear more about COVID and how many people it has killed in 2021. But you might also think, public enemy number one? Seems a bit old fashioned. When did we start using that phrase?

Meaning

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, public enemy number one means:

Quote
that which poses the greatest threat to the welfare or security of a community, nation, etc.
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/public-enemy-number-one_n?tab=meaning_and_use#27762524100

The phrase was often stylized as the words “public” and “enemy”, then “capital N” and “lowercase o” as a shorthand for the word “number”, and then the numeral 1. This was probably to save on print costs for newspapers and news wire services.

The concept of public enemies, a person who poses a great threat to a society, has been around since before English. In Rome, the Senate pronounced Emperor Nero as ‘hostis publicus”, which effectively translates to “an enemy of the people” or “public enemy”.
https://archive.org/details/fromtiberiustoan0000garz/page/186/mode/2up?q=hostis+publicus

Public enemy has a long history in English, too, as the European english-speakers used the phrase since at least the early 1700s. In Ireland and Britain.
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001380/17091025/006/0002
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000191/17400712/005/0001

But we are talking about ‘public enemy’ as a ranked system, public enemy number 1, number 2, etc.

1930
We can pretty much narrow down to the year when, and why, the phrase public enemy number 1 entered the English lexicon. And that is 1930. This is thanks to Frank J. Loesch, who at the time was the President of the Chicago Crime Commission. On April 24, 1930, his Public Enemy list, that was sent to every law enforcement agency in the Chicago area, was published in the newspapers. The headline of the Chicago Tribune read:

Quote
List 28 as Public Enemies
End Quote
https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/135589214/

Though the Chicago Tribune ran the people on the list in alphabetical order and made no mention of rankings.

However, nearly every newspaper I could find that day ran some story on the subject and most mentioned Alfonso Capone as being at the top of the list. I didn’t see any, though, mention the phrase public enemy number one just yet. But the idea was set.

In Laurence Bergreen’s 1994 biography Capone: The Man and the Era, he notes why the concept of Al Capone being public enemy number one was such a rage across the United States.

Quote
Although everyone knew Al Capone the bootlegger, few realized he was also a pimp. Now, courtesy of Frank J. Loesch, everyone knew exactly who Capone was: Public Enemy Number 1.

The label struck a chord in a nation racked by the Depression, and Capone now became a scapegoat for all sorts of social ills. No longer was he indulged as a symptom of these ills; he was now perceived as the cause. Thanks to Loesch’s publicity stunt, Al Capone became the first great American criminal of the twentieth century…
End Quote
https://archive.org/details/caponemanera0000berg_j6w7/page/366/mode/2up?q=public+enemy

Bergreen used the phrase to describe Capone, but it wasn’t until October of 1930 that I actually was able to find the phrase actually in print. It may have been used sometime between April and October, I just couldn’t find it in the digital archives to which I have access. Here is the first one I found, of the Montana Standard dated October 10, 1930. This references the arrest of Ralph Capone and calls him public enemy number two. And the article has this to say about his older brother:

Quote
So off to a cell police trundled the resplendent younger brother of “Scarface Al” who is public enemy number one.
End Quote
https://newspaperarchive.com/the-montana-standard-oct-10-1930-p-1/

So the literal use of Public Enemy No 1 began in 1930. But you, like I did when I first looked into this phrase, may be saying - wait. I thought the Public Enemy list was an FBI thing. And for that, we’ll turn back to Laurence Bergreen’s biography:

Quote
At the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover also took note of the Public Enemies List. Always jealous of publicity, he adapted Loesch’s list into an FBI register of the nation’s Most Wanted criminals, to be updated as circumstances dictated. In time, the concept of a Public Enemies List became so closely identified with the FBI and Hoover that Loesch’s role as the originator of the concept was all but forgotten.
End Quote
https://archive.org/details/caponemanera0000berg_j6w7/page/368/mode/2up?q=public+enemy

Shauna, any guesses on who, or when, the first Public Enemy No 1 was for the FBI?

1934
Well here is a note from a PBS special on John Dillinger, notorious bank robber and, apparently, loveable scamp.

Quote
On his 31st birthday, June 22, 1934, Dillinger was declared America's first Public Enemy Number One. The following day the federal government promised a $10,000 reward for his capture, and a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
End Quote
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dillinger-john-dillinger/

I say loveable scamp because the PBS biography said he was “a folk hero to Americans disillusioned with failing banks and the ineffective federal government”.

Figurative Usage
But if Capone was public enemy number one in 1930, and Dillinger became the FBI’s first public enemy number one in 1934, when did we start using Public Enemy Number One in a metaphorical sense? Well, that happened quite quickly.

1932
Here’s an example of the title being applied to a concept, rather than a specific person. This is from a Fire Prevention Week ad by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce in The Daily Alaska Empire dated October 8, 1932.

Quote
Fire is Public Enemy No. 1
Every man, woman, and child should be constantly aware of and on guard against fire hazards.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045499/1932-10-08/ed-1/seq-7/#date1=1756&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=1+ENEMY+PUBLIC&proxdistance=5&date2=1933&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=public+enemy+no+1&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

1934
Here is one out of The Rotarian, the magazine of Rotary International in their September 1934 edition. This article has a dateline of East Orange, New Jersey.

Quote
“Public Enemy No. 1” is the reckless driver
East Orange Rotarians were shown recently at a meeting devoted to public safety. Various men prominent in city government explained the local situation, and a film demonstrating vividly the causes of many traffic accidents was shown.
End Quote
https://books.google.com/books?id=tEAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA41&dq=%22public+enemy+No.+1%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjarf_Cj_aLAxUyMtAFHT3CCeQQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=%22public%20enemy%20No.%201%22&f=false


1934
Even Broadway got into the act, with Cole Porter writing a song for the musical Anything Goes called Public Enemy Number One. Public Enemy Number One was also a title applied to a character in the musical because the person in question is thought to be the most wanted criminal. Once it is learned that public enemy number one is on board, the crew is actually delighted because it means they will sell out tickets for years to come because everyone will want to sail on this famous ship. Here are the closing lyrics from the song:

Quote
Public Enemy Number One,
Thank thee for ev'rything thou hast done
Blessings on thee, thou noble chap
For putting this boat of ours on the map
Thank thee heartily, holy man
For taking this liner American
For henceforth we'll be crowded on ev'ry run
Due to thee, Public Enemy Number One
Amen!
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wyHGNw_2Mw


1935
This next one has yet another example of something being declared public enemy number one, this time out of the January 1935 edition of The Forecast, America’s Leading Food and Health Magazine.

Quote
A new list of public enemies has been compiled in Washington, but it has nothing to do with gunmen and kidnappers. It’s a list of diseases against which the Public Health Service is fighting. Heart disease ranks as Public Enemy No. 1.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Forecast/Q9q3w-LpN1sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22public+enemy+No.+1%22&pg=PA29&printsec=frontcover

Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the US and World wide according to figures from 2022 and according to the provisional figures from 2023.
2022: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db492-tables.pdf#4
2023: https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D176;jsessionid=67D83677EC28D15F974CDF10B7F4

For public enemy No1, the point is we went from creating the phrase to seeing it used figuratively in a variety of ways in just 2 years time. Which makes this a rapidly moving phrase.

Let’s look at a couple more uses as we get further away from its genesis, or origin to see examples of its use as we get closer to modern times.

1943
In the April 7, 1943, the Twin Cities Ordinance News out of Minnesota, USA, residents were asked who they thought was public enemy number one. The result was this headline:

Quote
Hitler Outscores Hirohito as Public Enemy Number 1
End Quote

But I find it interested that one woman, identified as Rosemary Warchol, Primer Insert operator, A-shift, Building 501 had this answer:
Quote
Public Enemy Number 1 is the man or woman who is absent from a war job without any good reason.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90060918/1943-04-07/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1940&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=1+Enemy+Number+Public&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=public+enemy+number+1&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

While the question was about a specific question, she gave a conceptual answer. And given the US was in the throes of WW2, mostly because of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, many citizens felt it was “all hands on deck” to accomplish victory in the war against facism.

1954
Here’s another example of a disease with our label. This time from the Madison County Democrat out of Ohio, USA. This is dated January 1, 1954.

Quote
The successful outcome of these tests would mean that quantities of the new serum will be made available to children and grownups of all ages. And, this would be the end of paralytic polio, “children’s public enemy number 1”.
End Quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88077521/1954-01-01/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1940&index=10&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=1+enemy+number+public&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=public+enemy+number+1&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

To put this news into context, the World Health Organization noted the outbreak of polio in 1952 in the United States as the worst in the Nations history, so news to start 1954 of progress was welcome. By 1955 vaccinations were being given freely and by 1957 cases had dropped from 58,000 a year to 5,600 year. That’s more than a 90% decrease thanks to vaccinations. And by 1961, only 161 cases remained. In a 1955 interview, Jonas Salk was asked about the patent for his vaccine. His response showcases how important vaccines are in the world and how true it is that vaccines save lives:

Quote
Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?
End Quote
https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-polio-vaccination

Salk was a brilliant man and we’ll look a little deeper into him in the Behind the Scenes video that airs every Friday on our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod. We wouldn’t be able to do the behind the scene video or even this show if it weren’t for our patrons, so before we move to our more modern uses, we need to give them a shout out.

With that, it’s time to move to our more modern uses but first we need to say thank you to our sponsors.

A Quick Thank You
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Modern Uses

There are tons of modern materials talking about public enemy number one from the perspective of a look back at the 1930s gangsters. But I’m going to avoid those and instead look at usages in other ways. We’re going to start out with several songs, but we’ll see a few other artforms and expressions in the mix.

1981 Song
First up is Public Enemy #1, a song by Mötley Crüe off their 1981 album Too Fast For Love. Here are the opening lyrics:

Quote
You and me, we're gonna escape tonight
On the run under the moonlight
Don't think about nothing
No, don't think about nothing
Tragedy, runnin' the red light
Hear the screams, another one dies tonight
Don't think about nothing
Don't think about nothing
End Quote

The last half of the chorus is the repetition of “Public Enemy Number One” several times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZZwEUrBddw

1987 Song
First up is a 1987 Song by Public Enemy off their album Yo! Bum Rush The Show. Public Enemy is a rap group with original members Chuck D, Flava Flav, Professor Griff and Terminator X. In 2023, Billboard rated Public Enemy as the 6th best rap group of all time.
https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-rap-groups-hip-hop-all-time/

Here is the final verse of their song, Public Enemy No 1:
Quote
For all you suckers, liars, your cheap amplifiers
You crossed up wires are always starting fires
For you grown up criers, now here's a pair of pliers
Get a job like your mother, I heard she fixes old dryers
You have no desires, your father fixes tires
You try to sell ya equipment, but you get no buyers
It's you they never hire, you're never on flyers
'Cause you and your crew, is only known as good triers
Known as the poetic lyrical son
I'm Public Enemy number one
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAWVAbUAADQ

2006 Song
Public Enemy #1 is a song by Eminem off the 2006 album Eminem Presents The Re-Up. The song is about the dangers of any artist who pushes boundaries with their art. It references the assassinations of 2Pac and JFK as public figures who were pushing those boundaries in their areas of influence. The song begins as the singer quickly disconnects a phone call, then raps:

Quote
I sense someone's tappin' into my phones, why do
I got this feeling in my bones I might die soon?
The FBI might be tryin' to pull my file soon
I might be walkin' blindfold into a typhoon
I might be seein' rockets light up the night sky
Right outside the window of my living room
And if they do, then you can say good night
And bye-bye to them iTunes
If I don't try to record as much before I do
The plan is to have as many in the can as I can
As I stand before you in this booth a walking-dead man
End Quote

The song ends with the line, “You have become Public Enemy number one”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYbDM1g0bXk

2011 Song
Here’s a song called Public Enemy No. 1 by the band Megadeth off the 2011 album Thirteen, so named because it was their 13th studio album. Here is a snippet of the lyrics:

Quote
Public enemy number one
Watch the authorities come undone
With every stand-off that I've won
Flirting death just for fun

Public enemy number one
Born a fugitive father's son
Another heist of a bank is done
And the trouble has just begun
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLN1OB3_wG8

2013 Book
Are you ready for something completely different for this next one? Abe Lincoln: Public Enemy No. 1 is a 2013 novel by Bill Walker and Brian Anthony. It is not an anti-Lincoln statement about how the South will Rise Again. It is, however, a wild ride. Here’s the synopsis from the publisher:

Quote
When John Wilkes Booth shoots Lincoln with a bullet cursed by the notorious Chicken Man, a local voodoo practitioner, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events extending far into the future. Instead of killing Lincoln, the bullet puts the president into a coma for sixty-eight years, his body remaining limber and ageless. When he awakens in 1933, Abe Lincoln is a man out of time, a revered icon...and a political pariah. FDR and J. Edgar Hoover not only do not want him around, they want him to retire. But their plan to be rid of him backfires and Lincoln is on the run, a fugitive from justice.

Determined to reach Chicago and retrieve the small fortune left in trust for him by his long-dead son, Lincoln discovers that Hoover has confiscated all his money, leaving him destitute. With Bureau of Investigation agent Melvin Purvis in hot pursuit, Lincoln finds his way to a hobo camp where he befriends a young runaway, who agrees to accompany the former president back to Washington. There Lincoln hopes that Hannah Wheelhouse, the Chicken Man's granddaughter, can help him find the peace he longs for.

Then fate deals Lincoln another strange hand when he and the boy end up as hostages to infamous bank robber John Dillinger. Instead of leaving them by the side of the road after the robbery, Dillinger takes a liking to Lincoln and invites him to join the gang, promising him he'll get all his money back.

Will Lincoln survive long enough to recapture his fortune and get away, or will he be hunted down in a manner unbefitting a martyred President?
End Quote
https://www.amazon.com/Abe-Lincoln-Public-Enemy-No/dp/0989745716?gQT=2

I promised you it would be a wild ride. I may actually read this book just for the ridiculous zaniness that it must certainly hold.

2019 Movie
Public Enemy Number One is a 2019 documentary film directed by Robert Rippberger and actor Ice-T as an executive producer. Here’s the synopsis from the trailer on the youtube channel:

Quote
This eye-opening feature documentary digs deeper into the question of why America has kept this half-century long war by focusing primarily on the policies around marijuana, where it all began. What were Nixon's motives for starting the War on Drugs and why did he designate marijuana as one of the most dangerous drugs of all time? But most importantly, how did it evolve into a self-perpetuating, constantly expanding policy disaster?
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLOeSeVpMXs


Wrap Up
To wrap up, I’ll mention this answer I saw on Quora from user Siva Kumar Bachoti posted in 2022. The question was “what is an act of the public enemy?” and like most respondents, this one answered a slightly different question.

Quote
You are asking, who is the public enemy #1 in India today. Well, it is not a person, it is the negativity in our society.

One particularly poisonous and extremely dangerous change I see in our society today is, we no longer distinguish between a person and an issue.

We no longer say, “That particular thing you said/did, I don’t like that”. We say, “I don’t like you”.
End Quote
https://www.quora.com/What-is-an-act-of-the-public-enemy-What-are-some-examples-and-solutions

That, I think, is a powerful observation. While the post is about India, I think the sentiment is relevant for many Nations.

Dan:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included,
reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod or comment on our website bunnytrailspod.com

Shauna:
It’s poll time!

Recently we asked our Patrons, “What are the best pizza toppings”?

The top tier toppings were: Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Sausage, Black Olives, and Spinach. Not necessarily all at the same time, though that would be good.

Jan said:
Quote
If just for me, anchovies, black olives and onions. The rest of the family won’t stand for that, so we usually order something else. I’m definitely pro-pineapple on pizza.
End Quote

Heather added:
Quote
Like Kevin McAllister in Home Alone, I'm plain cheese pizza all the way
End Quote

Dan:
And Emily said,
Quote
My favorite combo is chicken, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes (with a white sauce).
End Quote

That sounds great, Emily. My favorite pizza is chicken and canadian bacon on white sauce. Sometimes I'll get light cheese because the white sauce is often an Alfredo blend so it doesn't necessarily need all the normal cheese. Also, my body can only handle so much lactose. I love grilled onions on pizza, but I don't like raw onions and I need the onions to be grilled or caramelized before going on the pizza if I'm going to eat them.

Shauna:
Mary added,
Quote
I can’t have cheese so if they have a dairy free garlic crust topping that is awesome too.
End Quote

I am allergic to almost all of the things that make pizza, pizza. So I make mine from scratch with alternatives… but I load it up with all of the veggies, especially peppers and olives and then add some spinach and basil… and I think basil is what really makes it awesome.

As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!

Outro

Shauna:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,

Together:
Words belong to their users.