Image via Wikipedia barnacles – 1. a good booty (as in “things worth sticking to”); 2. a pair of spectacles (a possible corruption of binoculi); 3. handcuffs. Sources London Antiquary, A [Hotten, John Camden]. A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words. 2nd ed. London: John Camden Hotten, 1860. Matsell, George W. Vocabulum: Or, [...]
baggage smasher – a man who hangs around a railway station looking for luggage to steal. Image by mattbuck4950 via Flickr Sources Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of the Underworld. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961. Note: See “Cant: The Language of the Underworld” to learn more about the background of the American Malefactor’s Dictionary.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Isaac Frasier was colonial America’s most prolific burglar. In his Brief Account of the Life, and Abominable Thefts, of the Notorious Isaac Frasier, he recorded over 50 acts of burglary and theft and stated that he committed many more that he could not specifically remember. He toured all over New England and into New York, [...]
Note: This post continues “Advice from a Condemned Burglar.” Joseph Atwood and Levi Ames both participated in the burglary of Martin Bicker’s house in 1773, although the extent to which each one was involved was a matter of debate. Both said that the other was the mastermind of the burglary, and Atwood claimed that he [...]
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 [...]
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Even though William Linsey was orphaned at a young age, this rough start did not appear to have any negative impact on him. Linsey was originally born in Palmer, MA in 1746, but at the age of two he went to live with Phinehas Mixture in Dudley, MA. By Linsey’s own account, Mixture raised him [...]
Filed in Criminals | Also tagged Branding, Burglary, Connecticut, Forgery, Fraud, Imprisonment, Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, Prisons and Jails, Punishment, Whipping | 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 [...]
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 In May 1744, Elizabeth Robinson was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London to transportation to the American colonies for her involvement in the theft of 104 China oranges from a warehouse. She was loaded onto the Justitia that same month and eventually landed in Virginia. She ended up in Maryland, where she reportedly continued [...]
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, [...]
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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