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Tag Archives: Fraud

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: ambush

ambush – fraudulent weights and measures used by grocers, coal-dealers, etc. The term is a pun on the formal definition of the word: to lie in wait (lying weight). Sources: Barrère, Albert and Charles G. Leland. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. [London]: The Ballantyne Press, 1889. Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. […]