Heading
Crocus-Chovey (vagrants' and thieves').—A doctor's shop. From [crocus = doctor + chovey, a shop.]
Crocus-Pitcher, subs. (vagrants'
and thieves').—A quack ambulant.
[From crocus (q.v.), a
doctor, + pitcher, one that
stands in the street to hold forth
concerning his business.]
Crocussing-Rig, subs. (old).—Travelling
from place to place, as
a quack doctor. [From crocus
(q.v.), a doctor, + ing + rig,
a performance or trick.]
1781. G. Parker, View of Society, II., 171. Crocussing Rig is performed by men and women, who travel as Doctors or Doctoresses.
Crone, subs. (showmen's).—A
clown or buffoon.
Crook, subs. (old).—1. A sixpence.
[An abbreviation of crookback
(q.v.)]
1789. Geo. Parker, Life's Painter, p. 178. s.v.
2. (general).—A thief; swindler; one who gets things on the crook (q.v.).
1887. Orange Journal, 16 April. Strange as the statement may seem, the public know nothing of the work of a really clever crook, and the police themselves know very little more. The explanation of this ignorance is a very simple one. A crook whose methods are exposed is a second-rate crook.
On the crook, adv. phr. (thieves').—The antithesis of On the straight (q.v.). Cf., On the cross.
1879. J. W. Horsley, in Macm. Mag., XL., 503. Which he had bought on the crook (dishonestly).
To crook (or cock) the elbow, or the little finger, verbal phr. (popular).—To drink. [A French colloquialism, identical in meaning, is lever le coude; a hard drinker is un adroit du coude.] For synonyms, see Lush.
1871. De Vere, Americanisms. To crook the elbow, is one of the many slang terms for drinking.
1877. Besant and Rice, With Harp and Crown, ch. xix. The secretary . . . might have done great things in literature but for his unfortunate crook of the elbow. As he only crooks it at night, it does not matter to the hospital.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 3 May, p. 4, col. 1. I'll . . . ask him to take a drink, chat with him while he crooks his elbow.
Crook-Back, subs. (old).—A sixpenny
piece, many of the slang
names of which suggest a bashed
and battered appearance; e.g.,
'bender,' 'cripple,' 'crook,'
crookback, etc. Quoted by
Grose [1785]. For synonyms, see
Bender.
Crooked, ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Disappointing; the reverse of straight (q.v.); pertaining to the habits, ways, and customs of thieves.—See On the crook. So also, mutatis mutandis, crookedness = rascality of every kind.
1837. Comic Almanack, p. 94. Things have gone very crooked.
1877. Five Years' Penal Servitude, ch. ii., p. 126. The prisoner's friend was also a 'fly' man, and he immediately saw how he could thoroughly pay off the crooked officer.
1884. Daily Telegraph, 22 Jan., p. 3, col. 1. My time was up the same day as that of two lads of the crooked school; it was through them that I took to thieving.
1884. Echo, 28 Jan., p. 4, col. 1. Last season will be long remembered in the racing world for the crookedness of some owners.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 3 Nov. 'What are you trying to get out of me?' 'I am going to see that to-night you are
