Part 2

CONFIDENCE MAN. A fellow that by means of extraordinary powers of persuasion gains the confidence of his victims to the extent of drawing upon their treasury, almost to an unlimited extent. To every knave born into the world it has been said that there is a due proportion of fools. Of all the rogue tribe, the Confidence man is, perhaps, the most liberally supplied with subjects; for every man has his soft spot, and nine times out of ten the soft spot is softened by an idiotic desire to overreach the man that is about to overreach us. This is just the spot on which the Confidence man works. He knows his subject is only a knave wrongside out, and accordingly he offers him a pretended gold watch at the price of a brass one; he calls at the front door with presents from no where, as none could be expected; he writes letters in the most generous spirit, announcing large legacies to persons who have no kin on the face of the earth who cares a copper for them. The Confidence man is perfectly aware that he has to deal with a man who expects a result without having worked for it, who gapes, and stands ready to grasp at magnificent returns. The consequence is, that the victim--the confiding man--is always _done_. The one plays a sure game; his sagacity has taught him that the great study of the mass of mankind is to get something and give nothing; but as this is bad doctrine, he wakes up out of his "brown study," and finds himself, in lieu of his fine expectations, in possession of a turnip for a watch, a cigar-box in place of a casket. The Confidence man always carries the trump card; and whoever wishes to be victimized can secure his object by making a flat of himself in a small way, while attempting to victimize somebody else.

CONK. The nose.

CONSOLATION. Assassination. To kill a man, is to give him consolation.

CONVENIENT. A mistress.

COOK. Melt; dissolve.

COPBUSY. The act of handing over stolen property by a thief to one of his pals for the purpose of preventing its being found on him if arrested.

COPPED. Arrested. "The knuck was copped to rights, a skin full of honey was found in his kick's poke by the copper when he frisked him," the pickpocket was arrested, and when searched by the officer, a purse was found in his pantaloons pocket full of money.

COPPED TO RIGHTS. Arrested on undoubted evidence of guilt.

CORINTH. A bad house.

CORINTHIANS. Bad women who move in respectable society.

CORN-THRASHERS. Farmers.

COUPLE. To live with.

COVE or COVEY. A man.

COVER. The follow that covers the pickpocket while he is operating.

COVING. Palming; stealing jewelry before the face and eyes of the owner, or person that is selling it.

COW. A dilapidated prostitute.

COW JUICE. Milk.

COW'S GREASE. Butter.

COWS AND KISSES. Miss, or the ladies.

CRAB-SHELLS. Shoes.

CRABS. Feet.

CRACK. To force; to burst open.

CRACKSMAN. A burglar who uses force instead of picklocks or false keys.

CRAMMER. A falsehood.

CRAMP WORDS. Sentence of death.

CRAMP-RINGS. Shackles or handcuffs.

CRAMPED. Killed; murdered; hanged.

CRAMPING CULL. Executioner; hangman.

CRANKY. Mad; insane.

CRANKY-HUTCH. An insane asylum.

CRASH. To kill. "Crash that cull," kill that fellow.

CREAMY. Secretly.

CREATURE. Liquor.

CREEME. To slip money into the hands of another.

CRIB. A house.

CROAKE. To murder; to die.

CROAKED. Dead.

CROAKERS. Newspapers.

CROKUS. A doctor. "The cove sold a stiff un to a crokus for twenty cases," the rogue sold a corpse to a doctor for twenty dollars.

CROSLEITE. To cheat a friend.

CROSS. Dishonest.

CROSS-COVE. A thief; any person that lives in a dishonest way is said to be "on the cross," from the fact that highwaymen were in the habit of waiting for their victims on the cross-roads.

CROSS-DRUM. A drinking-place where thieves resort.

CROSS-FANNING. Picking a pocket with the arms folded across the chest. A knuck in the front rank of a crowd desiring to steal a watch from the pocket of a gentleman standing on either side of him, first folds his arms across his breast; and pretending to be intensely looking at some object before him, stretches out the arm next his victim, and by rapid movements of his fingers and hands excites his attention, and, while in this attitude, with the hand which is stretched across his own breast, he twists the watch from the other's pocket.

CROSSED. To meet another and pass him. "The swell moved as he crossed me," the gentleman bowed as he passed me.

CROW. The crow is the fellow that watches outside when his accomplices are inside, and gives them warning of the approach of danger.

CRUMEY. Fat; pockets full; plenty.

CRUMP. One who procures false witnesses.

CRUSHER. A policeman.

CUES. The points.

CUFFIN QUEERS. Magistrates.

CUFFIR. A man.

CULING. Snatching reticules and purses from ladies.

CULL. A man; sometimes a partner.

CUPBOARD LOVE. He or she loves only for what they can get.

CUPSHOT. Drunk.

CURBINGLAW. Stealing goods out of windows.

CURLERS. Fellows who sweat gold coins by putting them in a bag, and after violently shaking, gather the dust.

CURTISONS. Broken-down lawyers; Tombs skinners.

CUSSINE. A male.

CUT. To abandon; to renounce acquaintance; drunk; "Half cut," half drunk.

CUT BENE. Pleasant words; to speak kind.

CUT UP. "The jug cut up very fat, and the gonniffs all got their regulars; there was no sinking in that mob," the bank was very rich, and the thieves all received their share; there was no cheating in that gang.

CUTTER. A peculiar instrument that first-class screwsmen (burglars) use for cutting through iron chests, doors, etc.

CUTTING HIS EYES. Beginning to see; learning; suspicious.

CUTTY-EYED. To look out of the corner of the eyes; to look suspicious; to leer; to look askance. "The copper cutty-eyed us," the officer looked suspicious at us.

CYMBAL. A watch.

D

D. I. O. Damn it! I'm off.

DACE. Two cents.

DADDLES. Hands.

DAGAN. A sword.

DAIRY. The breasts of a woman that suckles a baby.

DAISY-ROOTS. Boots and shoes.

DAISYVILLE. The country.

DAKMA. Silence; "Dakma the bloke, and cloy his cole," silence the man, and steal his money.

DAMBER. First.

DAMBER COVE. The head man.

DANAN. Stairs.

DANCE AT HIS DEATH. To be hung; "May he dance when he dies," may he be hanged.

DANCERS. Shooting stars; fellows who do not remain long in one place.

DANCING. Sneaking up stairs to commit a larceny.

DANGLER. A roué; a seducer.

DANGLERS. A bunch of seals.

DAPPER. Well made. "The crack was dapper."

DARBIES. Handcuffs; fetters.

DARBY. Cash. "Fork over the darby," hand over the cash.

DARK CULLEY. A man who visits his mistress only at night.

DARKEY. A dark lantern. "The coves had screwed the gig of the jug, when Jack flashed the darkey into it, and found it planted full of coppers. 'Bingavast!' was the word; some one has cackled," the thieves had opened the door of a bank with false keys, and when they looked in with the aid of a dark lantern, they found the place filled with officers. One of the thieves cried out: "Be off! some one has cackled."

DAUB. A ribbon.

DAVEY. Affidavit; to witness under oath.

DAWB. To bribe. "The bene cove was scragged, because he could not dawb the beak," the good fellow was hanged, because he could not bribe the judge.

DAY-LIGHTS. The eyes.

DEAD BEAT. Without hope; certain.

DEAD BROKE. Not a cent.

DEAD GAME. A term used by gamblers when they have a certainty of winning.

DEAD SET. A concentrated attack on a person or thing.

DEAD SWAG. Not worth so much as it was thought to be; things stolen that are not easily disposed of.

DEAD TO RIGHTS. Positively guilty, and no way of getting clear.

DEATH HUNTER. The undertaker.

DEEK THE COVE. See the fellow; look at him.

DELLS. A prostitute.

DERREY. An eye-glass.

DEVIL BOOKS. Cards.

DEW-BEATERS. The feet.

DEWS. A gold eagle; ten dollars.

DIAL-PLATE. The face.

DIARY. To remember; to enter in a book. "I'll diary the joskin," I'll remember the fool.

DIB. Portion or share.

DIBS. Money.

DIDDLE. Liquor.

DIDDLE COVE. A landlord.

DIE. Dummy, or pocket-book.

DIFT COVE. A neat little man.

DIGGERS. Finger-nails.

DIMBER. Handsome; pretty.

DIMBER-MORT. Pretty girl; enchanting girl.

DING. To throw away; to strike.

DIP. A kiss in the dark; a pickpocket.

DIP. To pick a pocket; the act of putting a hand into a pocket.

DIPT. Pawned.

DISMAL DITTY. The psalm or hymn sung by persons just before they are hanged.

DISPATCH. A mittimus; a warrant of arrest.

DIVER. A pickpocket.

DIVING. Picking pockets.

DIVING-BELL. A rum-shop in a basement.

DOASH. A cloak.

DOBING LAY. To steal from stores early in the morning. Two thieves enter a store, as soon as the porter opens it; one of them inquires about some goods he pretends he was looking at the day before, and wishes to see them. The goods inquired for are either in the back of the store or up stairs. In the absence of the porter, the other fellow robs the store.

DOCTOR GREEN. A young inexperienced fellow.

DOCTORS. False cards or dice.

DOG-NIPPERS. Rogues who steal dogs, and restore them to their owners after a reward has been offered.

DOGS-PASTE. Sausage-meat; mince meat.

DOING POLLY. Picking oakum in prison.

DOLLY SHOP. A loan office.

DOMESTIC. Made at home. The man robbed himself; some one in the house assisted the thieves. "You may look at home for the thief."

DOMMERER. A fellow that pretends to be deaf and dumb.

DONBITE. A street.

DONE. Convicted.

DONKEY-RIDING. Cheating in weight or measure; miscounting.

DONNEZ. To give.

DOOKIN COVE. A fortune-teller.

DOPEY. A thief's mistress.

DOSE. Burglary.

DOSS. A bed. "The badger got under the doss, and frisked the bloke's pokes of two centuries and a half, and then bounced the flat till he mizzled."

DOTS. Money.

DOWN. Hatred; dislike; vindictive; to suspect another. "The copper cutty-eyed me and measured my mug, and is down on the job," the officer looked at me from the corners of his eyes, and examined my face; he suspects what we are about.

DOWNER. A five cent piece.

DOWNEY. A smooth, pleasant talker; a knowing fellow.

DOWSE. To strike. "Dowse his mug." hit his face.

DOXIE. A girl.

DRAB. A nasty woman.

DRAG. A cart or wagon.

DRAGGING. Stealing from shop-doors.

DRAGONS. Sovereigns; gold coins.

DRAGSMAN. A thief that steals from express wagons and carts; also trunks from the back of coaches. They sometimes have a fast horse and light wagon.

DRAW. } Picking pockets. "I say, my kinchin, DRAWING. } what's your lay?" "Vy, yer see, } as how I am learning to draw."

DRAY. Three.

DROMEDARY. A clumsy, blundering fellow.

DROPS, or DROPPERS. Fellows that cheat countrymen by dropping a pocket-book filled with bad money, near their heels, and then pretend that they found it. By the aid of an accomplice, the countryman is induced to purchase it, with the avowed intention of finding the real owner, believing it to contain good money.

DROPT DOWN. Low-spirited. "The kiddy dropt down when he went to be scragged," the youngster was very low-spirited when he walked out to be hanged.

DRUM. A drinking-place.

DRUMSTICK. A club.

DRY UP. Be silent; stop that.

DUB. A key; a picklock.

DUB LAY. Robbing houses by picking the locks.

DUB O' THE HICK. A blow on the head. The copper tipt the dromedary a dub o' the hick with his drum-stick.

DUB THE JIGGER. Open the door.

DUBLER. A picker of locks.

DUCE. Two cents; two.

DUDS. Clothes.

DUFF. Pudding.

DUFFER. A fellow, in the dress of a sailor, who knocks at the basement-door, and inquires if the lady of the house does not want to buy some smuggled goods, and then exhibits imitation silks, satins, Irish linens, etc., etc., which he pretends to have run ashore without the knowledge of the custom-house officers.

DUKES. The hands.

DUMMY. A pocket-book; a portmonnaie. "Frisk the dummy of the screens, ding it and bolt; they are crying out beef," take out the money and throw the pocket-book away; run, they are crying, stop thief!

DUN. A _very importunate_ creditor. Dunny, in the provincial dialect of several counties in England, signifies _deaf_; to dun, then, perhaps may mean to deafen with _importunate demands_; it may have been derived from the word _donnez_, which signifies _give_. But the word undoubtedly originated in the days of one Joe Dun, a famous bailiff of the town of Lincoln, England, who was so extremely active and dexterous in his business, that it became a proverb, when a man refused to pay, to say, "Why don't you Dun him?" that is, send Dun after him. Hence it became a cant word, and is now as old as the days of Henry VII. Dun was also the name for the hangman, before that of Jack Ketch.

"And presently a halter got, Made of the best strong hempen teer, And ere a cat could lick her ear, Had tied it up with as much art, As Dun himself could do for's heart."

_Cotton's Virgil Trav._ Book IV.

DUNEKER. A thief that steals cattle.

DUNNAKIN. It can't be helped; necessary.

DUNNEY. Deaf; to dun.

DUNNOCK. A cow.

DURIA. Fire.

DUSTMAN. Dead man. "Poor Bill is a dustman; he was a bene cove," poor Bill is dead; he was a good man.

DUSTY. Dangerous. "Two fly-cops and a beak tumbled to us, and Bill thought as how it was rather dusty, and so, shady was the word," two detectives and a magistrate came upon us suddenly; Bill said it was rather dangerous, and so we got out of sight.

E

EARTH-BATH. A grave.

EASE. To rob.

EASE THE COVE. Rob the man.

EASON. To tell.

EASY. Killed. "Make the cull easy," kill him; gag him.

EAT. To take back; to recall; to retract; to unsay.

EAVES. A hen-roost; a poultry-house.

EAVESDROPPER. A mean fellow; a petty larceny vagabond.

EDGE. Encourage; persuade; induce.

EGROTAT. He is sick.

ELBOW. Turn the corner; get out of sight.

ELBOW-SHAKER. A man that gambles with dice.

ELEPHANT. The fellow has an enormous booty, and knows not how to secrete it. If he had less, he would be able to save more.

ELFEN. Walk light; on tiptoe.

EMPEROR. A drunken man.

ENGLISH BURGUNDY. London porter.

EQUIPT. Rich; full of money; well dressed, "The cull equipped me with a deuce of finifs," the man gave me two five-dollar bills.

ERIFFS. Young thieves; minor rogues.

ETERNITY-BOX. A coffin.

EVERLASTING. The treadmill.

EVIL. A wife; a halter; matrimony.

EWE. An old woman dressed like a young girl, "An old ewe dressed lamb fashion." "A white ewe," a beautiful woman.

EXECUTION-DAY. Wash-day; cleaning house.

EYE. Nonsense; humbug.

F

FACER. A glass filled so full that there is no room for the lip; a staller, or one who places himself in the way of persons who are in hot pursuit of his accomplices.

FADGE. It won't do, "It won't fadge."

FAG. A lawyer's clerk; to beat. "Fag the flat," beat the fool.

FAGGER. A small boy put into a window to rob the house, or to open it for others to rob.

FAGGOT. To bind. "Faggot the culls," bind the men.

FAIKING. Cutting out the wards of a key.

FAITHFUL. A tailor that gives long credit. "I say, Sam, what kind of crib was that you cracked?" "Oh! it belonged to one of the faithful."

FAKEMENT. A written or printed paper; the written deposition of a witness.

FAKER. A jeweller.

FAM GRASP. To shake hands. "Fam grasp the cove," shake hands with the fellow.

FAM LAY. Thieves who rob jewellers' stores by pretending to want to make a purchase.

FAMILY-MAN. A receiver of stolen goods from a dwelling-house.

FAMLY-MAN. Connected with thieves.

FAMS. Hands.

FAN. A waistcoat.

FANNY BLAIR. The hair.

FARMER. An alderman.

FASTNER. A warrant.

FAT. Money.

FATERS. Fortune-tellers.

FEEDERS. Silver spoons or forks. "Nap the feeders," steal the spoons.

FEINT. A pawn-broker.

FEKER. Trade; profession.

FEN. A common woman.

FENCE. A receiver of stolen goods; to sell stolen goods. "The bloke fenced the swag for five cases," the fellow sold the plunder for five dollars.

FENCED. Sold.

FERM. A hole.

FIB. To beat. "Fib the bloke's quarron in the rum-pad, and draw the honey in his poke," beat the fellow's carcase in the street, and steal the money in his pocket.

FIBBING. Striking with the fist.

FIDLAM BENS. Thieves who have no particular lay, whose every finger is a fish-hook; fellows that will steal any thing they can remove.

FIDLAM COVES. Small thieves who steal any thing they can lay hands on.

FIGDEAN. To kill.

FIGGER. A juvenile thief put through side-lights at outside doors to unbolt the door and admit other thieves to the house.

FIGGING LAW. The art of picking pockets.

FIGNER. A small thief.

FIGURE-DANCER. One who alters the numbers or figures on bank-bills.

FILE. A pick-pocket. The file is one who is generally accompanied by two others, one of whom is called the "Adam tyler;" and the other the "bulker," or "staller." It is their business to jostle, or "ramp" the victim, while the "file" picks his pocket and then hands the plunder to the Adam tyler, who makes off with it.

FINE. Imprisoned. "The cove had a fine of two stretchers and a half imposed upon him for relieving a joskin of a load of cole," the fellow was sentenced to imprisonment for stealing a countryman's money.

FINGER-BETTER. A fellow who wants to bet on credit, and indicates the favorite card by pointing to it with his finger.

FINNIFF. Five dollars.

FIRE. Danger. "This place is all on fire; I must pad like a bull or the cops will nail me," every body is after me in this place; I must run like a locomotive or the officers will arrest me.

FISH. A seaman.

FITTER. A fellow that fits keys to locks for burglars.

FIZZLE. To escape. "The cove made a fizzle," the fellow escaped.

FIZZLED. Broke up; fell through.

FLAG ABOUT. A low strumpet.

FLAM. To humbug. "Flam the bloke," humbug the fellow.

FLAME. A mistress.

FLAPPERS. Hands.

FLASH. Knowing; to understand another's meaning; to "patter flash," to speak knowingly.

FLASH HER DILES. Spend her money.

FLASH PANNY. A house resorted to by rogues of both sexes.

FLASH YOUR IVORY. Laugh; show your teeth.

FLASH-DRUM. A drinking-place resorted to by thieves.

FLASH-HOUSE. A house of resort for thieves.

FLASH-KEN. A thieves' boarding-house.

FLASH-MAN. A fellow that has no visible means of living, yet goes dressed in fine clothes, exhibiting a profusion of jewelry about his person.

FLAT. A man that is not acquainted with the tricks and devices of rogues.

FLATTER-TRAP. The mouth.

FLAWED. Half-drunk; quick-tempered; not exactly honest.

FLAY. To vomit.

FLESH-BROKER. A match maker; a procuress.

FLICKER. To drink. "Flicker with me," drink with me.

FLICKERING. Laughing; smiling; drinking.

FLICKING. Cutting. "Flick me some panam and caffar," cut me some bread and cheese. "Flick the Peter and rake the swag, for I want to pad my beaters," cut the portmanteau and divide the plunder, I want to walk my boots, (to be off.)

FLIMP. To tussel; to wrestle.

FLIMPING. Garroting; highway robbery.

FLIMSEY. A bank-note.

FLING. To get the best of another. "The sharp will fling the bloke," the rogue will cheat the man.

FLOORERS or TRIPPERS. Fellows that cause persons to slip or fall in the street, and then, while assisting them up, steal their watch or portmonnaie. They are sometimes called "rampers." A gentleman in a hurry on his way to the bank, or any other place of business, is suddenly stopped by a fellow directly in front of him, going in an opposite direction to himself, who has apparently slipped or stumbled, and in endeavoring to save himself from falling, thrusts his head into the pit of the gentleman's stomach, thereby knocking him down. Immediately two very kind gentlemen, one on each side, assist him to rise, and when on his feet busy themselves in brushing the dirt from his clothing, during which operation they pick his pockets. Thanking his kind assistants with much profuseness, he goes on his way, and very soon afterwards finds himself minus his watch or pocket-book, and perhaps both.

FLUE-SCRAPERS. Chimney-sweeps.

FLUSH. Plenty; the cove.

FLUTE. The recorder of a city.

FLUX. To cheat; cozen; over-reach.

FLY. Knowing; up to him. "The bloke was fly, and I could not draw his fogle," the man was aware of what I wanted, and I could not steal his handkerchief.

FLY-COP. Sharp officer; an officer that is well posted; one who understands his business.

FLYERS. Shoes.

FLYING COVES. Fellows who obtain money by pretending to persons who have been robbed, that they can give them information that will be the means of recovering their lost goods.

FLYING JIGGERS. Turnpike-gates.

FOB. To cheat.

FOG. Smoke.

FOGLE. A pocket-handkerchief.

FOGLE-HUNTING. Stealing pocket-handkerchiefs.

FOGRAM. A fusty old fellow.

FOGUE. Fierce; fiery; impetuous.

FOGUS. Tobacco. "Tip me a gage of fogus," give me a cigar, or a pipe and tobacco.

FORK. A pickpocket.

FORKS. The fore and middle fingers.

FOXEY. Cunning; crafty; sly.

FOXING. To pretend to be asleep.

FOYST. A cheat.

FOYSTER. A pickpocket.

FRAMER. A shawl.

FREE. To steal.

FRENCH CREAM. Brandy--called "French cream," by the old Tabbies, when mixed with their tea.

FRIDAY. Hangman's day.

FRIDAY FACE. A dismal countenance; the face of a man who is sentenced to be executed.

FRISK. To search; to examine.

FROG. A policeman.

FROG AND TOE. The city of New-York. "Coves, let us frog and toe," coves, let us go to New-York.

FRUMPER. A sturdy blade.

FUBSEY. Plump.

FUBSEY DUMMEY. A fat pocket-book.

FULLIED. Committed for trial.

FUMBLES. Gloves.

FUN. To cheat. "To fun a man," is to cheat him.

FUNK. To frighten.

FUNKED OUT. Frightened; backed out.

FUNKERS. The very lowest order of thieves.

FUSSOCK. An old fat woman.

FUSTIAN. Wine.

G

GABBEY. A foolish fellow.

GABS. Talk.

GADDING THE HOOF. Going without shoes.

GAFF. A theatre; a fair. "The drop-coves maced the joskins at the gaff," the ring-droppers cheated the countrymen at the fair.

GAFFING. Tossing; pitching; throwing.

GAGE. Man; fellow. "Deck the gage," see the man.

GAGERS. Eyes.

GAIT. Manner; fashion; way; profession. "I say, Tim, what's your gait now?" "Why, you see, I'm on the crack," (burglary.)

GALENA. Salt pork.

GALIGASKIN. A pair of breeches.

GAM. Stealing.

GAME. The particular line of rascality the rogue is engaged in; thieving; cheating.

GAMMON. To deceive. "What rum gammon the old sharp pitched into the flat," how finely the knowing old fellow flattered the fool.

GAMMY. Bad.

GAN. The mouth or lips.

GANDER. A married man not living at home with his wife.

GANG. Company; squad; mob.

GAPESEED. Wonderful stories; any thing that will cause people to stop, look, or listen.

GARRET. The head.

GARRETTING. To rob a house by entering it through the scuttle or an upper window.

GARROTE. To choke.

GARROTERS. Fellows that rob by choking their victim. Three fellows work together in this manner: The tallest of the three steps behind the victim, and putting his right arm around the neck, compresses the windpipe, and at the same time, locks the right leg by throwing his own around it. Another of the confederates secures his hands, while the third rifles his pockets. Should the garroting be done on a public thoroughfare, where people are passing, the garroters engage in laughter and jocular remarks, as if it were a pleasant lark among friends. They sometimes sprinkle rum on and about the victim's neck and face, so as to induce persons who find him, after they have left him half-dead and stupified, to believe that he is drunk.

GATTER. Drink of any kind.

GELTER. Money.

GERMAN FLUTE. A pair of boots.

GETAWAY. A locomotive; railroad train.

GHOULS. Fellows who watch assignation-houses, and follow females that come out of them to their homes and then threaten to expose them to their husbands, relatives, or friends, if they refuse to give them not only money, but also the use of their bodies.

GIG. A door. "Dub the gig of the cosa," break open the door of the house.

GIG-LAMPS. A pair of spectacles.

GIGG. A nose. "Snitchel the bloke's gigg," smash the man's nose.

GIGGER. A lock or door. "Dub the gigger," open the door.