pieman
Preserved but no longer current.
In tossing, the man who cries is called the PIEMAN. In the old days when the itinerant PIEMAN’S duty was to toss or sell, and his call was, "Hot pies, toss or buy, toss or buy," he was always supposed to be entitled to the cry, the intending eater "skying the copper." An active and efficient police have, however, improved tossing—so far, at all events, as PIEMEN and poor people are concerned—off the face of the earth, and gaming of all descriptions is now a luxury confined to the rich.
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 “pieman” mean?
In tossing, the man who cries is called the PIEMAN. In the old days when the itinerant PIEMAN’S duty was to toss or sell, and his call was, "Hot pies, toss or buy, toss or buy," he was always supposed to be entitled to the cry, the intending eater "skying the copper." An active and efficient police have, however, improved tossing—so far, at all events, as PIEMEN and poor people are concerned—off the face of the earth, and gaming of all descriptions is now a luxury confined to the rich.
Is “pieman” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.