scoundrel’s dictionary
Preserved but no longer current.
Or, an Explanation of the Cant Words used by Thieves, Housebreakers, Street-robbers, and Pickpockets about Town, with some curious Dissertations on the Art of Wheedling, &c., the whole printed from a copy taken on one of their gang, in the late scuffle between the watchman and a party of them on Clerkenwell Green, 8vo. 1754.
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 “scoundrel’s dictionary” mean?
Or, an Explanation of the Cant Words used by Thieves, Housebreakers, Street-robbers, and Pickpockets about Town, with some curious Dissertations on the Art of Wheedling, &c., the whole printed from a copy taken on one of their gang, in the late scuffle between the watchman and a party of them on Clerkenwell Green, 8vo. 1754.
Is “scoundrel’s dictionary” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.