Obsolete British thieves' cant for the theft of handkerchiefs — a skilled pickpocket speciality in 18th and 19th century London. Handkerchiefs were valuable items in an era before disposable tissue, making them worthwhile theft targets. The vocabulary is documented in historical canting dictionaries.
He'd been arrested twice for smatter-hauling before he turned fifteen.
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(UK, slang, obsolete) The theft of handkerchiefs.
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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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