magsman

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From mag +‎ -s- +‎ man, of unclear origin. It has been suggested that mag was dialect for halfpenny[1] or for prattle.[2]

Noun

[edit]

magsman (plural magsmen)

  1. (archaic) A con man who tries to deceive members of the public.
    • 1846, George William MacArthur Reynolds, The Mysteries of London, page 60:
      [] M was a Magsman, frequenting Pall-Mall; / N was a Nose that turned chirp on his pal; []

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 2011, Jonathon Green, Crooked Talk: Five Hundred Years of the Language of Crime, Random House →ISBN
  2. ^ Oxford Dictionaries

Anagrams

[edit]