"Men come in and have no hesitancy about buying jazzbo neckties, "snazzy" collars, passianate^([sic – meaning passionate?]) hats or thunderous hosiery, but they lower their voices and cast their eyes from side to side to avoid detection when they say they want to purchase a two-ply undergarment," said one local gents furnishing merchant. "One would think they were giving an order to their pet bootlegger," he added.
Source: wiktionary