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Category Archives: Dictionary

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: artful dodger

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

artful dodger – someone who avoids lodging in the same place twice out of fear of arrest. Fagan, the Artful Dodger, and Oliver Twist. Image via Wikipedia In England, the term also meant either a lodger or an expert thief. The Artful Dodger was, of course, the name of Fagan’s top child-pickpocket in Charles Dickens’s […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: arch-cove and arch gonnof

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

arch-cove – the head of a gang or mob; governor; president. arch gonnof – the head of a gang of thieves. The use of “arch” to signify the leader or head of a gang is still in use today. Action-adventure movies or television shows often use the terms “arch enemy” or “arch villain.” Image via […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: antelope and antelope lay

Monday, January 11, 2010

antelope – a hog (ironic: “a hog’s ugliness and clumsiness are contrasted with an antelope’s beauty and grace”). antelope lay – hog stealing. Image by johnmuk via Flickr Sources Barnes, Daniel R. “An Early American Collection of Rogue’s Cant.” The Journal of American Folklore 79, no. 314 (Oct.-Dec., 1966), 600-607. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: angler

Monday, January 4, 2010

angler – 1. a petty thief who uses a hook on the end of a string to steal from shop-windows, grates, doors, etc.; 2. a member of a gang of petty thieves who roams the street looking for opportunities; 3. a receiver of stolen goods; a fence; 4. a putter up, i.e., a servant, clerk, […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: amuse

Monday, December 21, 2009

amuse – 1. to fling dust into someone’s eyes in order to distract them; 2. to tell a false tale in order to distract and then rob an unsuspecting victim; to “entertain” deceptively. Amusers threw dust or pepper, which they kept in their pockets, into the eyes of someone they wanted to rob. As the […]

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