turning joint

English

Etymology

From turning +‎ joint. First use appears c. 1895.

Noun

turning joint (plural turning joints)

1. (US, dated, obsolete) A place where legitimately earned money was swindled in exchange for counterfeit currency.
   • 1895, Thomas Byrnes, Professional Criminals of America, page 33:

     The victim is usually taken first to some saloon in the vicinity of the "turning joint," where he is given over to another crook, the "turner," who lies in wait for him.

   • 1897, Edward W. Townsend, Near A Whole City Full, page 164:

     He's got a come-on from New Jersey that I'm to steer to the turning joint.

   • 1928, Frank Dalton O'Sullivan, Crime Detection, page 170:

     ... and brought to a place where the scheme is to be operated and which is known as the "turning joint".

   • 1957, Morris Robert Werner, It Happened in New York, page 74:

     ... those who returned and made their way to the turning joint, in order to right matters themselves, were quickly taken care of by "tailers"

   • 2011, Timothy J. Gilfoyle, A Pickpocket's Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York, page 209:

     There they were met by a "bunco steerer" like Appo who, after an exchange of passwords, "steered" the individual to a "turning joint" in another hotel or office.

   • 2022, John Oller, Rogues' Gallery - The Birth of Modern Policing and Organized Crime in Gilded Age New York, page 189:

     At the turning joint, the over-the-counter salesman, or "turner," did all the talking, showed the victim the $5,000 to $10,000 in good money described as counterfeit, and sold it to him on a discounted basis (as an example, $500 bought $5,000).