Charley-pitcher
Charley-pitcher is an obsolete British slang term for a thimblerigger — someone who runs the shell-and-pea con, also known as the three-card trick.
Definitions
Charley-pitcher is an obsolete British slang term for a thimblerigger — someone who runs the shell-and-pea con, also known as the three-card trick. The term belongs to the vocabulary of 19th-century British street crime and fairground sharp practice. 'Charley' was a common generic name for a street person or rogue; 'pitcher' suggests someone who pitches a game or sells something fraudulently. Entirely archaic; of historical linguistic and social history interest.
The Charley-pitchers worked the edges of the market, pulling in the gullible with their thimble games.
Comments
(obsolete, slang) A thimblerigger.
Comments
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "Charley-pitcher".
🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "Charley-pitcher" (C)
Browse all slang words starting with C.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- snide pitcher63%
(UK, slang, obsolete) One who puts counterfeit money into circulation.
- chaunter59%
(colloquial) A deceitful, tricky dealer or horse jockey.
- cheap Charlie58%
(US, Australia, Southeast Asia, slang) A cheapskate, a miser.
- nobbler57%
(UK, obsolete) A thimbleman's or cardsharp's accomplice or shill, who poses as a player of the game to suggest that it is easy to win.