Clyfaker is an obsolete British slang term for a pickpocket — someone who steals from pockets in crowds. The term belongs to the rich vocabulary of 18th and 19th century British criminal cant, appearing in period slang glossaries and accounts of the criminal underworld. The 'cly' element refers to a pocket in thieves' cant, while 'faker' means someone who makes or takes. Entirely archaic; of interest to criminal history researchers, cant language scholars, and social historians of Georgian and Victorian Britain.
The fair brought out clyfakers from across the city, working the crowds while the marks watched the entertainers.
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(slang, obsolete) A pickpocket.
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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.
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