hook um snivey
Preserved but no longer current.
(formerly "HOOK and SNIVEY"), a low expression, meaning to cheat by feigning sickness or other means. Also a piece of thick iron wire crooked at one end, and fastened into a wooden handle, for the purpose of undoing from the outside the wooden bolt of a door. Sometimes used as an irrelevant answer by street boys. As, "who did that?"—"HOOK UM SNIVEY"—actually no one.
Lừa đảo bằng cách giả vờ ốm hoặc bằng các phương tiện khác
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “hook um snivey” mean?
(formerly "HOOK and SNIVEY"), a low expression, meaning to cheat by feigning sickness or other means. Also a piece of thick iron wire crooked at one end, and fastened into a wooden handle, for the purpose of undoing from the outside the wooden bolt of a door. Sometimes used as an irrelevant answer by street boys. As, "who did that?"—"HOOK UM SNIVEY"—actually no one.
Is “hook um snivey” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.