This week’s theme
Dickensian eponyms

This week’s words
Podsnap
Turveydrop
Stiggins
pecksniff
Artful Dodger


This week’s comments
AWADmail 1191

Next week’s theme
Words that aren’t what they appear to be

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(art-ful DOJ-uhr)

MEANING:

noun: A nimble, cunning thief or a pickpocket.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the Artful Dodger, nickname of Jack Dawkins, in Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel Oliver Twist. Earliest documented use: 1839.

NOTES:

The Artful Dodger is part of a group of children who pick pockets and are led in a life of crime by Fagin. The Artful Dodger is the nimblest knave in this band of pint-sized purse-liberators. Dressed like a dandy and slick as a buttered weasel, he’s a performance artist with pockets as his canvas. Also see: sticky-fingered.

USAGE:

“The pouches on these bags put your phone, wallet, and other daily necessities on your chest, and that’s tough to tackle for the Artful Dodgers of this world.”
Michael Gebicki; How to Outwit the Pickpockets; Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Aug 26, 2023.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: